CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FOUR

The Way Forward, Part 1

“Ash!” Sam yelled in alarm. “We’re going to crash!”

The Argo VII was speeding through a cluster of trees, zig-zagging left and right to avoid the landmines that appeared in the sonar display on Jackboot’s dashboard.

“Take a chill pill, Sam,” Farsight replied. “I’ve got this.”

Instead of slowing down though, Farsight sped up. She pushed the Argo VII to zoom across a patch of ground Jackboot had earlier labeled, “A kill box,” while Sam watched in disbelief as she skirted the edges of each landmine’s area of effect without making them explode.

“Precognition and probability powers are such cheat gifts,” Jackboot commented.

The Argo VII barely cleared this cluster of landmines when they heard an explosion just a few yards behind them. The Nemean Lion was right on the school bus’ tail and was seemingly unbothered by the mines exploding underneath its paws.

“You ask me, indestructible fur’s the real cheat power here,” Farsight complained. “Can someone man the guns and blow this creep out of my rear-view mirror already?”

“I’m on it,” Thunder said as she climbed into the security rig next to Jackboot’s seat. “Setting phasers to stun.”

Sam moved to stand behind her seat while looking a little excited. “Do we really have phasers?” he asked.

“No, nerd.” Thunder teased just before she tapped on the conspicuous red button on the Toxa dashboard. “We received a delivery of upgraded javelins from Flint Consolidated after you…”

He was pretty sure she stopped herself from saying “fell off the bridge,” and that made him wonder how she might have felt when she thought he was a goner. Did Thunder miss him as he’d missed her?

Get a grip, lame-brain, he chided himself. Now’s not the time for this…

Thoughts of Thunder’s possible feelings for him disappeared the instant Sam took a second look at the rear camera’s screen. “Hephaestus’ flaming beard…that’s not a javelin. It’s a freaking missile.”

The javelin in question had a sleek bronze body that shone with the tell-tale sign of enchantment. A series of Norse runes—a few of which Sam recognized to be dedicated to Tyr, the Norse god of war—glowed along the length of the weapon’s shaft. Its spear tip was a thick, carbon fiber blade with serrated edges that burned with a soft orange glow similar to that of molten rock.

“We named it the violator,” Thunder revealed.

“It does look like it’ll violate whatever it hits,” Sam agreed.

“Hold on!” Farsight called as she pulled the wheel to the right to avoid the trunk of a thick pine in their immediate path.

Unfortunately, this put the Argo VII within range of a landmine that exploded just as one of the front wheels rolled over it. Thankfully, the school bus’ armor plating held firm, allowing the Argo VII to push past the explosion with minimal damage to its undercarriage.

“I think I’ve underestimated Flint Consolidated,” Jackboot said. “And here I thought American companies liked to cut corners.”

“Not Flint—they’ve got a reputation for going above and beyond.” Dr. Hearthstone replied. He moved to stand next to Sam. “This entire bus reeks of Mr. Marsday’s design.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

He couldn’t help feeling surprised at hearing the name of another one of Chiron’s contemporaries.

Mr. Marsday, the global arms merchant responsible for the bulk of high-tech weaponry and gadgets spreading across the world was the opposite of his rival, Mr. Moonday, the blacksmith artisan who created gear tailor-suited to each of his hero clients—including Sam.

“Yes, yes, we’re riding a nice billion-dollar war machine.” Farsight sounded almost exasperated by all the banter. “Now, Sarah, can you please fire the freaking violator already?”

“Roger… But I guess I should say something appropriate first… Something like”—Thunder tightened her finger on the trigger of her dashboard’s joystick—“Fire in the hole!”

A second later and they all felt the shockwave that rocked the rear of the school bus. The violator had hit its mark, but its explosion also triggered the nearby landmines to explode as well.

“Hold onto something…we’re going into warp speed!” Farsight yelled.

Using the force of the explosions behind them as a kind of springboard, Farsight triggered the Argo VII’s nitro. This sent the school bus zooming through the small bit of space between two thick rows of pines like a fighter jet on a runway, which also helped to shield the Argo VII from the bulk of the continuous blasts behind it.

Then came the mighty, almost indignant sounding roar of the villain who’d been caught in the whirlwind of flames and flying shrapnel behind the Argo VII.

“I expect Apex has been thoroughly violated,” Jackboot chuckled.

“Ye-yeah,” Sam agreed, his brow creasing over the destruction of the forest behind them. “I think we’re safe now.”

Although Sam was sure the Nemean Lion would probably survive the over-the-top fireworks display, he was also certain that the great beast wouldn’t be able to catch up to them now. Farsight driving like a stuntwoman from a Fast and the Furious movie would ensure that.

“Now that we have room to breathe, does anyone have a clue where we’re headed?” Jackboot asked once they were far enough from the explosions to feel safe.

“South,” Sam answered.

All gazes turned to him.

“How far south?” Farsight asked.

With a knowing smile, one born from him having already figured out the first half of their next clue, Sam said, “To the golden gate that stretches across Poseidon’s domain.”

***

Much later, Sam was strapping on the armor Chiron had given him over the spare suit he kept in his locker when Thunder popped into the Argo VII’s equipment compartment.

“That’s a new look,” she said.

She was leaning by the doorway while eyeing him up and down.

“I didn’t think the cotton pajamas Chiron lent me will keep me alive for what’s coming,” Sam joked.

The form-fitting dark blue suit Sam had put on didn’t have the stats of his old Spartan Survival Suit, but this spare gear was sweat-absorbent, resistant to slashing damage, and more importantly, chafing-proof.

“Let me help.” Thunder moved over to assist Sam with putting on the straps of his armor. “This is an authentic Apollonian cuirass, isn’t it?”

“Y-yeah,” Sam replied awkwardly. “The, um, description says it was commissioned for a soldier who’d fought in the Trojan War…”

“Seriously?” Thunder asked.

“Seriously,” Sam replied.

He quickly pulled up the armor details from Triple-A’s menu and then recited the lines out loud for Thunder’s benefit. “A cuirass forged at the height of the Trojan War for a nameless soldier who stood at the vanguard of the Apollonian Guard against the hordes of Greek warriors who’d come to rape and pillage Troy. Although the soldier’s name was lost to history, his brave deeds live on in this relic where the spirit of his heroism resides to this day.”

“Chiron’s hand-me-downs are usually like that… pieces of history left to collect dust in one of his hideouts until he pawns them off to the next sucker who takes up the cause.” Thunder moved from the left shoulder strap to the right one. “I assume the stats are pretty good?”

Sam nodded. “It’s an upgrade from the old suit—gamma rating defensive stats and decent bonuses.”

Having finished with the armor’s shoulder straps, Thunder began working on the ones around Sam’s sides. “I kind of miss those little details you get from a system inspection.”

“You want it back?” Sam asked jokingly, although he might have been a little serious about it, too.

“Nope… Even with all its benefits, I honestly don’t miss the target on my back.” Thunder patted Sam on the arm. “All done.”

“I kind of get what you mean…” Sam turned to look at her. “It’s like the bad guys are instinctively gunning for me more now that I’m—”

The bright blue hue of Thunder’s eyes gazing at him so intently caused Sam’s brain to momentarily go on the fritz.

Gods, she’s beautiful…

“By the way…” Thunder glanced away. “…have you read the Herald today?”

“Um…” Sam could tell from the way she avoided his gaze that the Herald probably wrote about him again, and he wasn’t going to like it. “What did they say about me this time?”

She hesitantly passed him her phone which already had the Herald app’s front page on its screen.

THE TRUTH OF THE ENDLESS MAZE UNRAVELED!

Kansas, 20xx — a report from the mayor’s office released today sheds more light on the strange circumstances of the raid that ended the threat of the Endless Maze two weeks ago.

It has been confirmed that the official raid group, which was originally led by Kansas’ top super-team, the Supremes, was attacked outside of the haunted zone’s entrance by a previously unknown paramilitary outfit.

“These stormtroopers arrived and messed the party up before it even started,” claims Parabellum, leader of the Supremes. “Half our team was down by the time we knew what hit us…”

About these so-called stormtroopers, the Dickinson County Wardens Field Office had very little to say.

“We’ve never encountered such a well-armed, well-trained group of mercenaries here in Kansas before,” admits Warden Captain Krios, Chief of Operations for Kansas City.

“But we’re looking into it, and we’re already coordinating with the New York, London, and Tokyo field offices about gathering intel on these perpetrators… We’ll find out who they are soon, and I promise, they will be dealt with to the full extent of the law,” Warden Captain Krios assures the public.

It’s small comfort to those injured during the attack, many of whom would have died if not for the mysterious healer who’d arrived late to the scene and is credited for saving the lives of many of the wounded heroes.

“He healed the patients in the recovery tent enough that their conditions stabilized,” explains Paramagic, one of the healers who were there that night.

“I can heal two or three people at a time depending on how badly hurt they are, but I’ve never done a ‘mass heal’ like that before… No one has,” admits Miracle Girl, a beta-level healer who broke into America’s top hundred heroes during this year’s Herofest.

This mysterious healer’s identity is still unknown, although sources within the Wardens believe that he may be connected to the vigilante, Herculean, which some reports claim was seen in the vicinity of the Endless Maze. Other reports claim Herculean was leading the mercenaries in the—”

***

“Seriously? What in Hades?!” Sam frowned. “They’re blaming me for the attack now?”

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The last chapter of Vol. 2 is available now on Patreon if you guys are interested. XD