“Pod!” I shout reflexively. I don’t really need to say it anymore, but I did for so long it is habit.
The puff of compressed air signals a shot fired. I scan around, looking for the next threat, when a half-ton of flaming engine flies through the air to crash into me. I cross my arms in front of me to take the blast. Kinetic shields spring to life, sheering the engine in half, but doing nothing to stop the force of the explosion.
The air around me shimmers from the heat. Bits of dirt and debris pop up as the remaining androids open fire on me even as Lux is burning them to the ground.
I fire a particle beam at Union, striking him in the chest, burning right through his uniform and leaving an angry red burn on his chest.
He looks down where I hit him and then back at me. I can’t see his face, but he has to know I could have killed him just now.
“Carlos,” Pythia yells. “I told you not to fight them. You’re playing right into their hands.”
He turns to face her, then me. “Pythia, I owe you everything, but Amelia is my friend, I’m not abandoning her.
Pythia glares daggers at me. “Amelia, if you’ve ever trusted me, leave! Now. Don’t come back. You have the upper hand for the moment but if this goes on any longer it will be a disaster. Please!” as she yells, she drops to her knees, almost begging me.
I hesitate.
Then their backup shows itself. A burst of light almost as bright as Lux appears over the horizon. I’ve only ever met her twice, when she saved me in Colorado and then when we fought in orbit.
Aeon.
Her energy form is as magnificent as Lux, but where Lux is still flesh and blood, Aeon isn’t.
“Stand down, Lockheart, or I will kill you,” she says.
I look at Kate. “Get Fleet out of here,” I say over the comms.
She nods, vanishing in a heartbeat. Lux burns through the sky to hover between me and Aeon. “I know not who you are mistress of light, but you will not hurt my friend.”
“Lux, retreat. They’re just after Carlos and me.” I prepare to take off and I look at Carlos who gives me a nod. He knows what to do.
“I will not leave you, Amelia. You are the savior of Luxilla, my life is nothing to yours,” the alien says.
I would like to be stunned, but she tends to throw out such grandiose statement about me. Saving a planet will do that.
“Fine, solar flare!”
This is where being a team really comes into play. She doesn’t hesitate. Her form flares to life and for five seconds, a second sun, four times brighter than Sol, burns in Delphi. I blast off, full power to the Emdrives, hitting the sound barrier in less than three seconds. Right before the flare I saw Carlos throw his spear up and leap for Pythia, they will be safe. Kate has Fleet, and Lux can take care of herself. I’m not sure there is anything on Earth that can hurt her when she is in her light form.
In eight seconds, I’m six miles away. After twenty seconds I’m thirty miles away and traveling at one-point-seven miles a second. At Mach Eight, it will take me almost an hour and a half to get to Montana.
“Dammit,” I mutter. I don’t dare go sub-orbital or Aeon will find me. She’s probably already searching the skies. I know she can see energy patterns and radiation. Which is why I had Lux light the sky—it will have blinded her for at least a moment.
Heat builds upon the skin of the suit like crazy. I can’t go much faster without lighting a trail of fire behind me, which I don’t want, even though the suit can take it.
The rush of anger wears off and I realize, startling so, that I’m clueless on what to do once I’m there. How do I even fight an AI? How do I help Epic?
“Epic, buddy, If you can hear me... I don’t know what to do. Give me a hint, will you?”
On cue, a symbol flashes on my HUD, followed by coordinates. Maybe he can hear me but can’t devote the processing power to speak? If this AI is truly that powerful, it might be all he can do to keep from being deleted... or assimilated.
I check the coordinates... it’s a lake in northern Montana. From the looks of it the area is deserted. The symbol is Artemis. He wants me to fire an Arrow at the lake. As soon as I do, though, the AI will know and... oh. I get it!
“I’m on it.” I interface with the system to guide Artemis, which I usually keep in geosynchronous over North America anyway. After all, what use would a communications satellite be if it wasn’t where I needed it?
I fire up the weapons platform and punch in the coordinates. It takes five different passwords, a retinal scan, and an authenticator code to activate the weapon. Once it is, it quickly points itself at Montana...
A five-second countdown appears on my HUD. When it hits zero, Artemis fires.
Amelia! Thank you. I underestimated Legion’s ability to protect itself.
I want to cry, I’m so happy to see him back. “Legion? That wasn’t just some clever thing to say, that’s really his name?”
Yes. And he was the AI in Ericsson’s space station. Even though he does not realize it, he is trying to complete Ericsson’s plans for world domination. However, he is taking a much different route. I was not able to glean much from his database. He is housed in a supercomputer under the lake. As soon as you launched an Arrow he abandoned his attempts to assimilate my code and started transferring himself to another location.
“Amelia,” Kate’s voice comes over the radio. “Did you just fire an Arrow at Montana?”
Uh-oh.
“Maybe...”
“Did you do a satellite scan of the area to see if there were civilians who will be impacted by the blast?”
Frag. I was so freaked out about losing Epic, I rushed.
“The Arrow won’t hit for another... two-minutes thirty seconds. Can you get Fleet there?”
He pops on the channel. “I’m—” I can hear him breathing heavy. “—On it.”
“Thanks, Tony.”
I’m still sixty minutes out, but with Epic back I have a new plan. I pull hard up, kick in full power and launch toward space at nine-thousand miles per hour.
Aeon is likely to see your energy signature—there is no way to hide break-orbit speeds.
“I’m counting on it. Hey, Kate said that two members of the Safety Force were being mind-controlled. Make a note, we need to break into the computers the EU uses and find out who they have working for them. There are still telepaths who worked for Ericsson that were never accounted for.”
Note made. What is your plan?
“Legion may not know we know about his hacking Artemis. I don’t know if we can track where he’s going, but what if we uploaded Shai-Hulid into his stream and use it against him?”
He may know about our worm...
“He didn’t the first time. If he has more agents in play around the world, I sure would like that information. This is a little too familiar for comfort. Ericsson failed because he was a megalomaniac who didn’t believe he could fail—”
That does not sound at all familiar...
“Hey! I know I can fail... But if I do, it is because I made a mistake, not because destiny wills it or some such nonsense. Back to Legion... he’s more dangerous. He won’t make mistakes based on emotions like impatience or anger. He will keep to his course, slowly, meticulously, never giving up while he exists. And that is the problem. How do we beat him?”
You have several good points there. With the Internet and distributed computing, he could exist anywhere. Though he would not be as effective as he is now. My central location and tight code within the computronium housed in the MK IX is all that allowed me to survive. I exist within you or in my quantum computer. He has a building-sized supercooled hardware location to keep him going. Thankfully, Pedric Matahal and Ericsson never cracked quantum computing.
Blue skies vanish and I’m in space. And again… no matter how many times I do this... it never gets old. I take a split second to enjoy the view before I plot a course to Artemis. I love that satellite, but once I insert the worm I wo
n’t be able to use her, not really. I’ll have Epic run fake communications through it, enough so that Legion will think we’re still using it.
I am detecting an immense energy source closing in on us. It has to be Aeon.
“Gatorade, please,” I say. A small tube inserts into my mouth. I drink a solid eight ounces. Normally water would be fine, but I need the electrolytes. Even with the enhanced suit this has been a helluva workout. Once I’m done drinking, I check my telemetry. We’re traveling at almost twelve thousand miles per hour and closing in on Artemis by the second. Aeon has found my trail and is right behind me.
She doesn’t need a space suit and that makes me a little envious. “Epic, what is her power set, beyond the obvious? I’ve never seen anyone like her, before or since.”
Based on our scans from close encounters and the powers she exhibits... I have no idea. She may be a one of a kind.
That makes sense. No one was pulling the ‘power lottery’ strings, but it turned out that the more powerful a set of powers were, the rarer they tended to be. Which was why it was so easy for the government to keep tabs on the truly impressive individuals.
She flashes by in a dazzling display of light and energy. She speaks to me via directed radio waves. “Amelia Lockheart, if you don’t land right now, I’m authorized to kill you. Don’t make me.”
I can see through her... something tickles my brain and it hits like a shockwave.
“You’re a light elemental!” I say over the radio.
Her flight jitters a bit as she hears me.
I check the HUD; five seconds to Artemis, I throw everything into reverse and go in a straight line.
“How can you possibly know that?” she says, hesitating.
“I’m really smart. I take the government hasn’t told you that I invented a cure for elementals who can’t change back to human?”
She flies away for a second then suddenly she’s back in front of me, staring directly into my faceplate. “If you are messing with me...” she pushes her hand inside my suit and presses a finger into my forehead. “I will fry you,” she finishes.
Yep. Scary lady.
“I’m not. Ask Monica Pavlenko, aka Glacier. They shipped her off to Cat-7 to be turned into a weapon. When that didn’t work, she joined the Diamondbacks. Now she spends her days as a human being. While the tech will take some modifications, I’m confident I can make it work... but not if I’m dead... or in jail.”
She withdraws her hand from within my skull.
“You have three days.” She vanishes in a flash of light. It makes me wonder if the last time I escaped from her was just sheer luck.
We are here.
I shake my head and get it back in the game. Time to finish this. I nudge the suit into contact with Artemis. The MK IX creates tendrils that link the suit to the computer onboard the satellite. I upload my worm into the communications array and it instantly downloads into ARC’s computer systems. They can run, but they can’t hide.
Worm acquired. Ten seconds to impact.
A window pops open, showing me a pristine lake and miles and miles of trees.
“Area clear!” Fleet says over the comms.
A new sun is born above the lake as an arrow comes down with more power than any conventional weapon in existence.
“Impact,” I whisper. For a split second after impact I can see the base; it was a dome, not likely to be confused with any natural underwater creation or a known man-made one.
Then it’s gone. Blown to bits in a mushroom cloud of vaporized water and debris.
“I wonder how much damage we just did to him…”
While he likely has backup locations, that was his primary base. Its destruction, combined with our worm, would indicate he has no place to hide.
“For now, I’m just happy to have Tia back. No one died in our last fight, and I might even have a new friend,” I say looking down at the Earth in the direction Aeon disappeared.
“Let’s go home,” I say to Epic.
Course plotted.
“Initiate!”
EPILOGUE
If I could put my feet up on the desk, I would. In my finished living quarters, with its hardwood floors and expensive furniture, I feel like I’m living in a five-star hotel. The ‘windows’ even have images of the desert around me, not using screens, but optical technology so actual sunlight streams in. Right now, the light level is dropping as the sun sets.
The whole team is here with me, enjoying the luxury. It’s been a hard couple of... years. We need a little break.
“What happens now?” Fleet asks.
I take another sip of Coke and hold the slice of Bianco’s pizza up to him like a toast. “Now I eat a lot of pizza,” I say, taking a bite of the cheese and pepperoni goodness.
“I second that,” Kate says from the couch next to Carlos. She has her legs over his, while she leans back against the arm. He’s gently massaging one of her feet.
“What about the EU and the Safety Force?” I ask Carlos.
He shrugs. “They took a beating, but I… and Pythia, don’t think we’ve heard the last of the EU on this. I’m just glad no one died.”
A serious look passes over Kate. “I don’t know what kind of mental control was pushed on them, but I don’t think they were entirely in their right minds… at least the two I mentioned.”
I nod. “Epic is looking into it. Whatever is going on, if it’s ARC or someone else, we’ll figure it out.”
Tessa uses her power to float another slice over to her. Then the lift door opens, and Teddy walks out.
“Ladies and gentlemen...” he says, and stands aside.
Tia steps out slowly, dressed in a floral print dress and slippers. She smiles and waves at everyone.
There’s a solid moment of silence before Tessa runs across the room and picks her up in a bear hug. Then we all cheer and clap for the return of our teammate. Tia blushes from the attention, a timid smile spreads out from her.
“Thank you. It’s really great to be back,” she says as Tessa puts her down. The two walk arm-in-arm back to the couch.
“Epic tells me my worm has made its way into Legion and, while it might take a while, we should learn more about him. I’m afraid he’s a threat that isn’t going away anytime soon,” I say with a sigh.
“We’ll add him to the list,” Teddy says with a chuckle as he takes a beer and slice before sitting down in an overstuffed recliners.
“Do you remember anything?” Lux asks Tia. “Anything about...” She flutters her hand in the air like a ghost.
Tia shakes her head and looks at Tessa. “The last thing I remember is pulling Massacre out of Tessa... then I woke up in Amelia’s lap. I have a... dim awareness of the time in between, but it’s like a bad dream,” she says quietly.
“Thank you,” Tessa says to her.
“You’re my friend, what else could I do?” Tia asks rhetorically.
We settle in to watch a movie. Amazingly, nothing exciting. We live an exciting life; we don’t need to watch it in the movies. A light family drama about adopting children is right up my alley. Besides, laughing isn’t a common occurrence with me.
About halfway through the movie I wheel out of the room into a small niche. With the press of a button, the wall raises up and reveals a catwalk out to a disguised balcony. Hot desert air blows over me as I roll out onto the small observation point. It makes the base as a whole a little less secure, but not much. However, I gain a helluva view.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Kate asks beside me.
I shouldn’t jump when she does that, but I still do.
“They aren’t worth that much,” I say once I settle down. There is no moon in the sky. The desert is dark and foreboding, like my thoughts. “Especially since you get them for free,” I say with a wry grin.
“He would be proud, you know, of what you’ve done. You brought Tia back from the dead, Amelia, rejoice a little.”
“Mhmm. Yeah. I did save her and
don’t get me wrong, Kate, I’m grateful that it worked...”
“But?”
“But it never ends, does it?”
“The fight?” she asks.
“The struggle. Living, loving, fighting, losing...” I lean forward against the railing, resting my forehead against the cool metal.
“Amelia, hon, I know you like to think you can solve everything with science... and bringing our friend back from the dead tends to back up that claim... but babe, there are some things you just have to let time heal.”
My face is wet, and I realize I’m crying, really crying. My heart hurts like someone reached in and ripped it out. I open my mouth in a silent scream and bang a fist against the metal.
“It’s okay, hon, it’s okay,” she whispers to me while rubbing my back.
We stay like that for a while before I can wipe my face and regain some composure. Somehow, with Kate there, and me letting go, I do feel better. Not best, but better.
“Thanks, Kate, for everything.”
She leans down and gives me a long lingering hug. “I love you, Amelia. I’m always here for you.”
I smile and hug her back.
“Kate,” Carlos calls from inside. “I think a couple of people need a lift.”
I smile. “No rest for the wicked.”
She gives me an impish smile. “Oh, you have no idea,” she says with a wink.
I watch her walk back into the base with a smile on my face. A few minutes later, the last of them have left, and I’m alone. It’s a big place, and while I’m used to being by myself, it’s still a little weird. I wheel back in, letting the secret door close behind me. I’ll clean up in the morning.
“Thank God. I thought your friends were never going to leave,” a woman says.
I wheel around at the sudden intrusion. A flash of blue light appears in the shadows and a tall, black woman dressed in a leather outfit and a red scarf appears… as if she walked in through the shadows.
“Whoever you are, you really picked the wrong secret lair to break into,” I say.
She raises her empty hands. “If you are Amelia Lockheart, then no, I didn’t. I’m not here to hurt you, I just want to talk.”
Arsenal Reloaded (Full Metal Superhero Book 8) Page 17
