Collateral Damage

by Steve Beaulieu

  “Well, in that case, both of you grab an arm, and whatever you do, don’t let go until you’re where you want to be dropped. I’m okay doing a flyby, but I’d rather not buzz around that thing for too long and get swatted like an insect.”

  I nod. We both grab one of Skeiron’s arms, and in the next second, we’re flying through the air at a velocity faster than any of the flying vehicles I use during my missions. In fact, I think Skeiron is even faster than my battle drones. In less than ten seconds, we’re already behind the monstrous cyborg laying waste to the buildings around him and firing at other coalition superheroes in its path. It’s utter chaos, and the sooner we get in, the better. Another two seconds and Skeiron is on top of the massive cyborg’s shoulder.

  Phaser swings to the side, offering me his other arm. I grab it, and we both let go of Skeiron.

  “Thanks for the ride,” I say as we let gravity do its thing. Phaser gets us inside the metallic beast, and soon we land on a panel inside the cyborg. TAINHA overlaps the plans from her previous sensor sweep into my holographic HUD and draws a path to where we have to go.

  “I do not know who you are,” says a synthetic voice around us, with a lot of reverb. “But if you value your lives, you’ll get out as fast as you got in. This is your one and only warning.”

  “It’s scared. It knows we can do so much more damage from the inside as we ever could from the outside.”

  Phaser nods. “Where to now?”

  I activate the holographic projector located on my shoulder. It shoots a human-sized 3D hologram of the inside of the cyborg. A green dot represents our current position, somewhere on the right side of the cyborg’s massive chest.

  “This is us,” I say, pointing.

  I then gesture to a pulsating red dot not far from the cyborgs’ groin.

  “This is where we have to go.”

  Phaser shoots me a dubious look.

  “Someone has either a twisted sense of humor or thinks with its genitals.”

  I chuckle. I couldn’t have worded it better.

  “We need that CPU.”

  “Then let’s not waste any time. My people are dying every minute out there.”

  I flash him a thumbs up as I direct us toward the center of the chest. Once there, we use Phaser’s ability to drop down a few decks, and soon we are on the level that contains massive amounts of machinery and tighter halls. In fact, we’re forced to walk in a line, as the walls seem to narrow as we go. Only a few yards away from our destination, we navigate to a large blast door.

  “We need to go through there,” I suggest.

  Phaser grabs my hand and we travel through tens of inches of steel. The sensation is eerie, and for the duration it takes us to walk through it, my eyes see solid matter in front of them. I thought the feeling of time travel was very peculiar already. This is something else entirely.

  When my sight returns to normal, we’re in an enormous chamber with a central core protected by a red force field. A ton of cables and power conduit converge to it, and a red light winds around the conduits toward a core pulsating like a beating heart.

  Cole, TAINHA says. I’m detecting a build-up of energy in the area, be caref—

  A red lightning bolt shoots from the core, through the field, impaling me through the left shoulder. The pain is like nothing I’ve ever felt. But soon it stops.

  Phaser phased me out to remove me from danger without incurring more damage.

  Dispatching medical nanites to tend to your wound, and I’ve also injected the last of the painkillers into your bloodstream, Cole, says TAINHA with what I can only surmise is worry in her voice.

  “Thank you,” I answer out loud.

  You’re welcome, Cole, she says.

  “Anytime,” says Phaser. “Your wound looks nasty. We have to be careful; it won’t take many of these bolts to bring us down.”

  I couldn’t agree more. Time is of the essence. We barely have eighteen minutes left before Cronos’ reported death. And while I admire the technological marvel I’m in, I don’t want to die here. Suddenly, my penthouse apartment in New Geneva no longer feels like a lonely place, but a warm home I want to return to.

  TAINHA, what’s our next move?

  First, you should disable the power conduits. That would prevent the inner security systems from firing at you again.

  Why haven’t they already?

  There is a forty-five second recharge, so you need to hurry up. If that bolt had hit you in the head…

  She lets the sentence hang.

  …we’d both be dead right now.

  I’d rather not think about it, nor do I want to experience what it is to die. In moments like these, TAINHA feels as human as Phaser or myself.

  Then tell me what to do? How do I disable the power conduits?

  TAINHA overlaps orange targets to three different nodes around the CPU core.

  The destruction of these three nodes will cripple the emitters’ ability to take another shot at either of you. You have twenty-nine seconds left to destroy them. Maybe you should enter bullet time mode, Cole.

  “Cole,” Phaser insists. “What do we do next?”

  I realize I must look like I’m standing there doing nothing when I communicate with TAINHA, even though our thought communication exchange is much faster than human thought, thanks to my augments. Still, I guess I’m taking too long deciding, and even if I were to activate bullet time, there’d be no way for us to get all three of these nodes taken care of before the next attack from the cyborg inner-defense systems.

  I start charging my repulsor weapon for them to deliver maximum damage. The power nodes are encased in solid titanium, which nothing short of full power blast will take out. I point to the nodes. “We need to destroy these, but we won’t have time to get all three before it fires again. I may be able to get two.”

  “Then let me take care of one.”

  “How?”

  “Let me worry about that; just get the other two in time. I don’t know if I would survive one of these blasts the way you did.”

  He wouldn’t, as he’s dressed in what looks like simple tights, though I imagine the material has some protective properties. There are only a handful of seconds left before the emitters are charged again. I aim the right repulsor at my first target and swiftly take it out with a powerful ball of plasma. Its explosion rocks the room violently and we both stumble to the ground.

  Nine seconds left before a new attack. Phaser is already darting toward the center power node as its low-frequency humming intensifies. I aim with my left hand at the second target but the pain in my shoulder makes it difficult to keep my aim steady. I grab my left wrist to stabilize my aiming, but at this point, I’m still unsure I’m going to be able to bull’s eye that shot.

  Usually, I would take the shot and deal with the consequences later, if I missed. I don’t like requesting help; it’s just who I am, but Phaser’s life is also on the line, and we need him to get to Cronos. So I do the only thing I can do.

  TAINHA, aim assist, please; take the shot for me.

  I feel my left arm move on its own. It’s rock solid and steady when the ball of plasma exits my repulsor and vaporizes the second node, two seconds before the firing deadline. By then, Phaser is at the third power node, he touches it, and immediately the humming sound intensifies in pitch as he destabilizes the matter inside the node itself.

  He’s gonna get himself killed, Cole. When the emitters are ready to fire, the node might overload and explode in his face.

  But if he or the node is phased out, wouldn’t that protect him?

  I cannot be certain he can keep a phase separation when the node goes.

  I swear.

  “Phaser! The node’s gonna blow. You’ll get yourself killed.”

  “Trust me, Cole, I know what I’m doing.”

  I sure hope he does, comments TAINHA, or we lose our only lead to Cronos.

  The nearest emitter hums to life and a laser targeting system gets
a lock onto Phaser. I react instantly, shooting five rapid low-energy repulsor shots toward it. I seem to make enough of a commotion to distract its targeting systems. It fires a lower powered bolt of red lightning randomly in the center of the room. A split second later, the third node explodes engulfing Phaser in a massive fireball.

  “No!” I scream.

  It takes a few seconds for the fire and smoke to settle. I’m using my visual implants to switch to a different visual spectrum. Only smoke remains around the exploded node area, and my infrared does the trick. A man, radiating heat, is walking toward me. As he emerges out of the smoke I see he is unscathed.

  I release a long exhale.

  “I thought you were toast for sure.”

  “Told you to trust me. This isn’t my first ‘barbecue.’” He chuckles.

  Now what, TAINHA?

  Go to that console over there and apply your hand to it. I’ll do the rest.

  I comply, and soon my hand is lying on a glass panel interface. Under it, a screen comes to life, and I let TAINHA do her hacking thing. Two more power nodes power down and the force field around the core flashes erratically for a couple of seconds before dying.

  “I cannot let you have my CPU,” says the artificial voice around us. “Self-destruct activated. This vessel will self-destruct in twenty… nineteen.”

  “Now what?” I ask out loud

  I can’t disable the self-destruct in time.

  “I don’t know,” says Phaser.

  Then time slows to a crawl. TAINHA has activated bullet time for me.

  The encryption algorithm around that particular system is too secure for the time allotted, she adds. I need to override you again; this is going to be close.

  Before I can even start to think about it, I’m running in what feels like slow motion toward the CPU core. I can see overlaid commands scrolling by super fast on my holographic HUD as TAINHA performs her hacks. Even in bullet time, its too fast for me to see what she’s doing. I hear myself speak in slow motion, which is a strange sensation. TAINHA has also taken control of my vocal chords.

  For a second I wonder what would happen if she decided to take me over permanently. She has the ability to do so, even though I can override her, but right now—especially with my still gushing wound—it’s best I let her do what needs to be done.

  “Phaser, wait for me by that wall,” she says for me. “Be ready to phase us out the moment I fly and grab you. Tell your people outside to clear out; this sucker will make a massive boom when it goes.”

  Seeing him flash us an affirmative thumbs up seems so slow in bullet time. Already, some distant explosions can be heard, and the ground shakes around us. The cyborg self-destruct will probably destroy a few blocks, but at this point, I just hope we make it out of here alive and find Cronos.

  Being a witness of one’s body moving on its own is something I don’t think I’ll ever get used to. It feels like a prison; one where there is no escape.

  My body jumps high, and TAINHA fires up my repulsor to give her more velocity to reach the CPU core. A round door splits open, revealing a large slab of silicon hovering and rotating in the chamber; laser light-beams fire in and out thousands of times every second.

  TAINHA makes me grab the silicon in a swift aerial fly-by. Soon we’re on our way to Phaser, and I can hear myself speak again.

  “Get ready to phase us out.”

  “Ready.”

  Bullet time is slowly ending and I can feel time around us accelerate progressively. This usually makes me dizzy, causing a gap of time where I may not be able to act at full capacity, but with TAINHA at the helm, the perception of time slowing or speeding up doesn’t affect her circuitry like it does my human senses. She’s more than just an augment. She’s my friend, often the voice of reason and my guardian angel.

  On our way out, we impact with Phaser. He phases us so we can travel through multiple walls of metal and equipment. We fly through flames, explosions, sparks and more without ever feeling any pain. Soon, we emerge outside the cyborg, flying through the air, when it explodes. There are fewer people around than I expected, but some will be incinerated by the explosion. Flames engulf us briefly as TAINHA returns control to me. My shoulder is still killing me even though I can feel the nanites mending my wound from within.

  Thank you for trusting me with this, she says. I know you don’t like relinquishing control on any level.

  How well she knows me.

  Once the flames disappear around us, a skeletal and profoundly damaged cyborg falls on its knees—still mostly in flames—before crashing toward a nearby building, collapsing it in the process. I hope not many people were inside. Another five successive explosions detonate and what was left of the cyborg is mostly vaporized.

  We’re far enough from it that Phaser feels we no longer need his phasing ability to protect us. Instantly, a wave of heat like a warm blanket engulfs us. I use my repulsors to slow us down, and we safely land to the street pavement. Molten metal and flames surround us. Many unscathed battle robots lie on the ground; their red LED eyes turned off.

  “I wonder why the robots are disabled,” I say out loud for Phaser’s benefit more than for TAINHA.

  “I think they were controlled by that monstrous cyborg who killed half of my colleagues,” comments Phaser.

  Phaser is correct, says TAINHA, the main CPU of the cyborg must have been a central computing node for all the smaller ones.

  “Thank you, Cole Seeker,” says Phaser, holding out a friendly hand.

  I grasp it, and we shake.

  “You’re welcome. I’m sorry to be blunt, but I hope you can help me now.”

  “Absolutely, hang on.”

  Phaser presses a button on his watch and speaks into it.

  “Hailing Cronos; I’m sending you a set of coordinates for us to meet; the main target has been taken out, but we need your help. Over.”

  “Thank you,” I say.

  “That’s the least I can do; you’ve done us a tremendous favor today. Perhaps, now, we can win this conflict.”

  Anything we can do to help them? I inquire to TAINHA.

  I’ll need some equipment to interface the computer core. If it has memory modules, perhaps I can find a way to help them disable Oblivion altogether. While I was hacking in, I did detect external wireless signals from what seemed to be an administrative account. Oblivion, itself, most likely.

  Good, keep me posted.

  “Can I ask how you knew to take its CPU or even destroy the nodes when we were inside that…thing?” Phaser asks.

  “In the future from where I come, we use augments, technological enhancements, to give us an edge. There are no superheroes in my time. Just technology.”

  “I would be wary of technology, Cole. As you’ve witnessed today, it can go haywire and try to take over.”

  “Nothing like this can happen in my time,” I say, knowing full well that since TAINHA can take over my body at any time, there’s always a doubt that a rogue AI will decide to rule our Earth.

  “Well, that’s good to know. Hopefully, we learn from our mistake here—if we survive Oblivion.”

  “Once I’ve gotten a look at that CPU, perhaps I can help with that as well.”

  “That would be very generous of you, but I’m sure you’re eager to return to your time.”

  For a second I wonder if that’s the case or not. I do miss the comfort of my place, but I don’t miss the domes and the injustice that litters my world.

  Soon another man approaches wearing a black uniform with a white C emblazoned on his chest. Cronos has arrived.

  Five hours later we’re in a research lab of the Coalition of Superheroes, and some of their scientists help us interface with the CPU. They seem excited that we acquired this piece of tech, and they hope it will help them defeat Oblivion after they reverse engineer it. Once everything is in place, and TAINHA links with the powerful CPU, Cronos activates his temporal field.

  Please tell me this helps
us get back to our time, I tell TAINHA after a few minutes.

  Still computing and comparing the sensor data to my recording of our time jump mishap. I think I have found a way to send us back to the right time. Locating the right dimension; however, will be a little trickier. My system overloaded during the time jump and I have only partial data for the dimensional shift.

  What does that mean?

  That we could get to a reality that is similar to ours but might not be exactly ours.

  I don’t like the sound of that.

  Neither do I Cole, but unfortunately that’s the best I can do. There could be a way to try and identify our world, but it requires that I interface with your thoughts directly.

  Aren’t you doing that any time you need to?

  No, not really, Cole. I access part of your brain to control motor functions and other sub-systems of your anatomy, but I don’t have access to your private memory neurons. I need permission to do so.

  For a second I hesitate. There are some thoughts I want to stay private.

  I won’t be looking at things that don’t concern me, she says, probably sensing my hesitation in the matter.

  Very well; permission granted.

  Thank you for your trust, Cole. In going in, you may feel a slight sting.

  That’s an understatement. The pain doesn’t last long, but it feels like a large needle is jammed behind my left eye.

  After a few minutes, TAINHA confirms she may have acquired the info she needs to pinpoint our own universe with better accuracy. She’s about seventy-percent sure we can get to our exact universe, or one close enough we may not notice the difference. She also gives me the physical location of the main Oblivion data center; I give that information to Cronos.

  “Thank you;” he says. “This is invaluable information. I’m glad you can now return to your own timeline.”

  Phaser steps in next to his brother.

  “We’re indebted to you. Thank you, Cole.”

  “My pleasure. Thank you for helping us return to our own time.”

  “Oh, before you leave,” says Cronos.

  He grabs a pin from a nearby table. It harbors the insignia Phaser projected in the sky during the battle. He approaches and pins it to the right of my chest armor. It magnetically attaches and seals.