෴Raz෴

෴Hildolfer෴

෴Adele෴

෴Hex෴

෴Brock෴

෴Nicolette෴

෴Rhino෴

෴Barricade෴

෴Chrome෴

෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴

The Shape of Things to Come

෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴

From the outside the vessel was an odd thing. A small, strangely shaped vaguely cylindrical dark gray structure hurtling through the stratosphere at a leisurely pace—for a fighter jet. The outer profile, combined with the exotic alloys composition, gave the supersonic vessel an effective radar profile slightly larger than a single ladybug. If this hypothetical outside observer were particularly astute, they might wonder how the wingless, engineless, strangely angled vessel stayed aloft, let alone travelling through the atmosphere at a speed that one would use the word ‘mach’ while describing. Inside the cabin were three passengers. Well, two passengers, and one who was both pilot, passenger, wings, and engine.

Inside the vessel, there were several comfortable chairs scattered around the cabin. The two who were purely passengers reclined in comfortable seats. One of them was sleeping, the other was split between nervously looking at her, then at the old man a few meters away at the far end of the cabin.

Raz had started out the short flight near his mother, but when she almost immediately reclined the seat back and nodded off, he ended up moving to sit next to the enigmatic old man. Every few moments, he updated his subtle scan, keeping a close eye on Hildolfer’s slowly depleting energy level.

[I doubt you need to keep checking on him. His energy pool is vast.]

Yeah, I know you’re right intellectually. But, I also know that if he goes back into that fugue state while we’re up here going who knows how fast, we’ll be dead before we know something’s wrong.

Frustrated, Raz took a seat between Hildolfer and Adele.

Hildolfer looked up from where he’d been staring at his hand, then smiled wide.

Oh great. He’s going to want to talk to me.

[I know you’re not feeling it right now, but it seems as if he might have worthwhile things to tell us.]

I know, I’m just not feeling—yeah, you said it. I’m not feeling it. I’m exhausted. I want to sleep, but knowing I’m flying high and fast, in a wingless tube held aloft solely by the will of a senile old version of my self just isn’t helping me relax.

[For what it’s worth, I do not think he’s senile.]

“You need to get better at hiding when you’re talking to Bee. You give it away in how you hold your head and the expressions you make.” Hildolfer spoke up.

Raz shrugged, hoping the old man would take the hint.

“Yeah, I know. You don’t wanna hear it right now. Damn, I wish we could spare the time for you to get your head on straight in your own way and your own time.”

Raz leaned back in the surprisingly comfortable fine metal mesh chair and closed his eyes.

Please just shut up and let me have a moment.

“How's mom doing? She had a rough time in there you know.”

Despite his resolution to close his eyes and ignore the old man, Raz found himself nodding. “Yeah, it wasn’t exactly a picnic in there for me either.”

Even with his eyes closed, Raz could hear the old man nod and see his face clearly in the amalgamated electrosense and biosense view.

“I know. I wish I’d been able to get there in time. Ever since the first time, I regretted not being there to help—” The old man suddenly froze in place.

Everything around them shook. A pulse of something all but undetectable flashed outward from Hildolfer. The vessel abruptly experienced a bout of hard turbulence. Then Hildolfer was moving again, and the craft quickly righted itself in the thin stratospheric air currents. “Sorry, what was I saying?” He said, his tone suddenly unsure.

“Don't worry about it. I’m just going to chill here for a bit.” Raz muttered.

What the hell was that? Are you sure you don’t think he’s senile? Dude’s got plenty of energy, but he’s still fading out randomly. We need to get back on the ground before he drops us in the ocean or something.

[Don’t be silly. The ocean would be the least of our worries.]

Bee projected an image onto his mind’s eye. The image was a clip from a movie Raz had seen at some point, of a well-dressed bartender mixing a drink. The man picked up a drink shaker and shook it so fast his hands were a blur of motion.

[If we start falling at this speed, the vessel will soon begin to tumble. Once that happens, we’re in the shaker.]

Good point, way to find that silver lining.

[Despite what you say, you don’t want me sugarcoating things. You want the unvarnished truth, you just don’t like that it’s often less happy of a truth than you’d hope.]

I hate it when you’re right.

[No you don't.]

Well. Sometimes I do.

[That’s fair.]

With his eyes closed, Raz could still feel that Hildolfer was looking his way, and his mother was still sleeping, albeit fitfully.

Sorry, mom, wish I could help you, but I think rest is what you need most. Later, we can talk about what happened to you in there.

Alright, let’s focus on things we can affect. How long till Stabilize is fully activated or whatever?

[Might Rank 2: Stabilize: Assimilation ~4%]

Why so slow? Actually, never mind.

Without waiting for an answer, Raz activated Diagnose 2, and looked at himself. On the surface, everything looked normal. For several minutes, he looked at the different filters and options presented by the Diagnose interface. Finally, he was able to find what he’d been looking for. When he located the cells that had already been upgraded, they were all in his heart, and gradually spreading into his major arteries.

Of course, I guess it makes sense for the transformation to start with my heart, and spread out through the high-pressure side of the circulatory system.

[Although notes on Might are scarce in general, they imply that once your circulatory, respiratory, nervous, and digestive systems have been upgraded, the rest of your body will follow fairly quickly.]

I’m guessing, skeletal, skin, connective tissue, and last but not least, skeletal muscle?

[The notes are not as detailed as all that, but your reasoning is sound.]

Good, less chance of literally tearing myself a new one.

He pulled out of his diagnosis and opened his eyes, only to find Hildolfer looking at him intently.

“You’re going to want to get that leakage sorted. It’s not so obvious when you’re doing it to yourself, but using Diagnose and even worse, applying active healing on other people is like throwing up a flare on the battlefield. Everyone knows you’re doing it, and even your dumbest enemies instinctively see it as a bad thing,” the old man smiled, and produced a harmless spray of lights like a slow-motion firework. “Reminds me of the time you rekindled someone on the battlefield. Every one of those damned Megiror dropped what they were doing and charged at you.”

Rekindle? On the battlefield?

Hildolfer paused, and seemed to stutter in place. The wingless vehicle suddenly jolted hard. “Sorry, what was I saying?” The old man blinked several times and continued as though nothing had happened. “So anyway, make sure you don’t florble the narquelling, or else nork yuerg will plump firnethen.”

What the hell just happened? Did he just have a stroke? His energy is fine, so wh—Oh crap, I have a thought. I’m not even sure how to test it, but he said he can’t really recall this time period very well? I think I know why. I have a bad feeling he can’t tell us as much about the future as I’d like.

[I think your suspicion that he’s creating paradoxes every time he tells us about our own actions in the future is correct.]

“Burke!” Adele cried out, the hard bump had made for a rude awakening.

Raz hurried over and sat down next to her. “I’m here mom, everything’s fine.”

She clutched him tight. “Sorry, I was having a nightmare about being trapped in a maze with a monster chasing me.”

Probably not so far from the truth.

“We’re fine, everything’s ok.” he paused and looked at Hildolfer in a virtual mirror made over the brushed metal interior finish. The old man was sitting with his eyes closed, seemingly deep in thought.

“Mom, just so you’re not surprised, I’m—I’m not sure if I’m right, but I think I can’t be around Hildolfer too much.”

She frowned. “Why? What’s wrong? He’s…” she trailed off.

“I know he’s like an older version of me. Much older. I get that. But I think that anything he tells me, that has even a slight effect on how I conduct myself in the future, causes his own past to change. I don’t,” he pinched the bridge of his nose and thought furiously for a moment, “I don’t know this for sure, but if he changes my future, that changes his past, and the last thing we need right now is to have him getting his history shuffled while he’s literally carrying us through the sky.”

She frowned, her face tightening up as though expecting trouble. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. He, well, the younger, older you,” she paused and shook her head, “I really need a better way to refer to you all.” she shook her head, “and isn’t that an odd thing to be saying about my only son.”

“Who, Midnight and Hildolfer?” He said.

She smiled sadly. “You know, he doesn’t much like that horrible name. Did you know he didn’t choose it? They called him Doktor Midnight to paint him in a bad light. He—” She suddenly stopped short and looked at him with an intense expression. “Raz, listen, I need to tell you something! I know you’re going to struggle with this, but Midnight didn’t kill your dad. When I get back to—oh no… All those people.” she gasped in horror, her face crumpling with grief, and put a hand over her mouth, a sudden flow of tears making their way down her face.

He nodded. “Yeah. Midnight, or whatever he wants to be called, will have a lot to catch you up about. It’s only been a bit over a month since this all started, but it feels like so much more time than that has passed.”

She nodded and held him tightly.

We need to get her caught up with things. Too bad I can’t just package up my last couple weeks and upload it to her the way you can replay my memories.

[That may be possible. Transferral of experiences is referenced a few times in the notes, although it is considered by some to be quasi-mythological, requiring specialized abilities. I’m looking at how Fidel’s Final Analysis worked for more information.]

Greater love hath no man than this...

The thought of Fidel, a man who had started as his enemy and captor, a red somehow still capable of surprising humanity and mercy, only to end up as his fast friend, stalwart defender. A man who eventually came when needed most, and stood with him in his darkest hour, willing to pay the ultimate price. The thought of Fidel brought hot tears to his eyes. Raz blinked them back and tried to stay in the moment.

“Let me know—” his voice cracked, raw emotion too strong to keep hidden, “if I can do anything to help.” He looked out the window at the dark sky outside the flying craft, instinctively trying to hide his tears.

Adele reached over and put her hand on his. “I’m sorry you’ve had a hard time dear. I—I’m not sure what I can do, but I’m here for you.”

What a pair of fools we are, both trying to act strong to help the other one.

Raz smiled, and it was only partially forced. They spent the rest of the flight catching up, and bringing everything to light. Adele was horrified to hear what he’d been through. Hearing her tale, Raz was equally stricken, aghast at what she’d endured in her quest to find him. Her timeline confirmed his suspicion that time passed differently inside Mercator’s lair, slower at times, and much faster at others.

Later, they talked about Catalyst and abilities. She was eager to see his abilities in action. He felt the same way, thinking how great a portal ability would be. Aside from showing her a few tricks with his HUD and shared perceptions, they both agreed that it would be better to show off what they could do when they landed.

After they’d been talking for an hour, and touched at least briefly on every topic he could think of, in an effort to bring his mother up to date, he called over his shoulder to Hildolfer. “Hey, I’m sure we’re very entertaining over here, but—” he realized the man was slumped back in his seat, snoring, “Who’s flying this thing!?” Raz shouted.

Hildolfer coughed and sat up. He looked around, winking for a moment, then scratched at the edge of his black metal eye patch. “Eh? Oh, right. I was tired, so I took a nap.”

Raz sighed with exasperation. “I’m glad you got some rest, but who is flying this thing if you’re asleep?”

The old man rolled his neck, producing several pops. “Oh, Slippy and Braxus have it covered.” His eyes went unfocused for an instant, obvious to Raz, but too fast for most to notice. “Oh, hah, well, I guess I wasn’t specific enough in my instructions,” he had the grace to show his embarrassment, “It seems we’ve been circling our destination for almost an hour.”

“Who or what are Slippy and Braxus?”

The old man smiled, almost a smirk. “I’ve got an ability called Avatar, it’s like always having my friends around.”

Raz frowned. “So this Avatar can do things on your behalf while you’re asleep?”

Hildolfer nodded.

“That, is pretty damn cool. Let me guess, it's at the top of the tree?”

“The end of the chain, yes.”

With that, Hildolfer caused the ship to fall from the sky. The rapid descent was on the verge of freefall. Raz hated how vulnerable and helpless he felt with his safety in the old man’s hands.

That Avatar ability sounds pretty cool. Do you think you’ll ever be able to do things while I’m asleep?

[Unknown. It seems unlikely given how I function.]

Bummer, well don’t worry, I still think you’r—

[That is why you should acquire the Enhanced Cognition tree.]

Should have known that was coming. For the record, I only offered you a choice of unlocking an ability we have available for purchase, which implies that we already have the tree for it, not a top-tier ability on a tree we don’t even have.

[I am aware of that. Enhanced Cognition is not my choice, that was simply an observation.]

Ok, well I assume you’re thinking about that, have you decided what you’re going to choose?

[No. I want to see how Stabilize and the attached Sub Abilities Fury and Aegis interact with other abilities before making that decision.]

Under HIldolfer’s guidance, the vessel touched down in front of Brock’s shop, well within his perimeter. As soon as Adele and Raz stepped out of it, the entire craft collapsed down onto the old man, forming an armor reminiscent of the featureless suit worn by Midnight, but covered with ornate carvings, and runes that Raz recognized from the sheets he’d memorized, but didn’t understand. The other items they’d collected were neatly stacked at his feet, next to a metal box containing Mercator’s remains. Raz idly fingered the axe head he’d found clenched in Fidel’s hand.

Raz took Adele’s hand. “I’ve got some people to introduce you to.”

Hildolfer looked to the stars, then at Raz. “Raz, do you mind staying out here and talking to me for a moment? I’m sure Adele doesn’t need to be escorted in, and you and I need to talk.”

‘We have to talk’ is just never a good conversation.

Raz turned to his mother. “You ok with that? Sia is inside, and she can introduce you to Brock and Nicolette. They’re good people. If you’re still tired, they can get you settled into a guest room.

She looked unconvinced, but after a dubious look at the two of them, headed inside the fortified building.

Hildolfer started to say something, then abruptly stuttered in place, and put his hand to his head. “Ow, What the devil is that? I haven’t had a headache in…”

“Were you about to tell me something about my future?” Raz interjected.

Hildolfer nodded. “I was.” his tone cautious.

Raz nodded. “Damn. I knew it was too good to be true. Someone that wants to give it to me straight, but of course, you can’t.”

The old man shook his head. “No, I can. I need to prepare you for—” he flickered in and out of reality for an instant, then fell to the ground.

Raz put out a hand and helped him to his feet. “Stop, don’t try to tell me anything specific. I have a theory, hear me out,” he waited till the old man nodded, “You were saying how you can’t clearly recall this time in your life, as your younger self, right?”

Hildolfer nodded, his expression turning pensive.

“So, what I’m thinking is, that anything you do or say, that impacts my future events, and what I’ll do in the future, maybe especially if it impacts my immediate future, forces your past to change in some way. With me?” Raz asked.

Hildolfer formed a chair from his armor and sat down, nodding as though exhausted by the discussion.

“So, I’m guessing here, but I think that anything you tell me, has to be in the most general of terms, and let me be clear, I hate that. I hate that so much you don’t even know.” Raz finished, frustration thick in his voice, and sat down on one of the rocks in Brock’s yard.

Hildolfer nodded. “You’re talking about paradox. So you think that anything I tell you, that affects your future decisions, ripples through time and affects me personally in the now, because it affects me in the past?”

Raz rolled his eyes. “Yes, I just said that. It’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

Hildolfer looked at the box containing Mercator’s head and arm where it sat on the ground nearby. “The information contained in that box is critical to you.”

They both waited, but nothing seemed to happen. Raz finally laughed, eager to release the growing tension. “Is that because it doesn't change anything, or because it was already obvious, and I knew that.”

They shrugged in unison, then chuckled together. A moment later, They both started to speak again and then stopped.

Finally, Raz got to his feet. “So anyway, I’ve got a bunch of hours till something happens with the Incursions. I think that’s when they open all the way. Before that happens, I should look into getting a sat-phone.”

Hildolfer shook his head, then looked at his own hand. “Don’t bother.” A moment later he looked at Raz. “Did anything happen just now?”

Raz shook his head no. “Why shouldn't I bother?”

The old man took a deep breath, swallowed, and then spoke in a rush. “When they open up a lot of technology is going to fail and animals will start to turn into monsters,” he said in a rush, as though racing to get it out before anything happened.

Raz sat back down. “First off, I don’t think you can talk fast enough to avoid whatever paradox this is, so you probably don’t need to worry about it. Second, I have no idea why that doesn't count. Maybe it’s because it’s about the world as a whole? Either way, thanks for the info.” Raz started to think about how to prepare the world for this, then stopped when he saw Hildofer start to flicker and jump around like a badly cut movie.

“Ok, it’s worse than I thought. It’s not just you telling me. It’s if I decide to do something with that info. I think what you told me is disconnected enough from me personally, that it didn’t happen when you told me, it happened when I started to think about how to apply it, and what I could do about it.” Raz said, resting his face in his hands.

Hildolfer let out a soft cough. “I was worried it might be something like that. It certainly explains why this time in my life, the first time, is so fuzzy. My memory is generally perfect, so this has been very concerning to me,” he suddenly face-palmed himself, “Of course! No wonder I couldn't make it in time to save you from that fall or get there in time to help you fight Mercator. It’s so obvious. How did I not see it before?”

Raz tore his gaze from the brilliant violent beauty of the starlit sky and looked at his older, alternate self. “What do you mean?”

Hildolfer pinched the bridge of his nose. “Of course I didn’t get there in time to help. Because I already didn’t get there in time to help. That means… Oh. Well, that is a depressing thought.”

“What is?!” Raz pressed him.

Hildolfer got to his feet, his armor forming around him. “No, sadly this is clearly something I cannot tell you, because I see no way it wouldn't greatly affect your future decisions. It makes me wonder if I was right, so long ago,” he smiled, but it was a smile filled with more sorrow than Raz could ever remember seeing, “I do hope you and my younger self become better friends soon. We make a good team, and in the end… Uh, I’d better stop there.”

Raz stood up and extended his bare hand. Hildolfer clasped his hand tight. For a long moment, no words were exchanged, just silent understanding between a young man, and a very old one.

When they separated, Raz looked over at Brock’s workshop. “I suppose I’d better head in. Are you coming?”

Hildolfer tried to speak, but the flickering was more violent this time. When it stopped, the old man was prostrate on the rocky sand, a dozen feet away. “Uh. No. I think I’ve got something to take care of, and a little thinking to do out here first. I’ll be in shortly.”

Raz nodded absently and went inside. His mind was racing, trying to imagine what the old man might have been able to tell him about the future. The mantrap entrance allowed him in without a hitch. He stepped into a chaotic scene. Once in the shop, he could see and hear that Brock was working with one of his gateways. The vertical toroid was humming loudly, fully powered up, and creating one of those gateways through space. Nicolette, Hex, and a man Raz didn’t recognize stood near the gate, shouting into it. They were both calling out to someone on the other side of the gate.

“Come on Cade! Hurry up damn it! Get Chris into the chair!” Hex cried out.

Faint sounds of gunshots came through the portal. Nicolette backed away from the portal and took up a position near Brock at the portal controls. The sounds of rifle fire were getting closer. Adele was moving through the main room toward the exit. She had just reached the inner door to the mantrap when he came through it. His mother had changed into a long flannel nightgown. Without a thought, Raz stepped past her, gently pushed his mother behind him, and rushed toward the portal, his armor sliding down his arms to merge with the gauntlets as they took shape over his hands.

Brock shouted, his harsh German accent cutting through the din. “Das Wurmloch stirbt!”

Nicolette called out after her husband. “The portal is failing! Get through now while you can!”

Cade turned out to be a man with short, spiky brown hair, wearing urban camo fatigues and a slung rifle. He backed through the portal pulling a wheelchair. Despite the awkward position and dragging the chair along, he was moving fast. The wheelchair had another man on it. Raz assumed this was Chris.

Raz caught a glimpse of Chris’s hands and felt a surge of empathetic nausea. They looked fundamentally wrong. The useless digits were drawn thin like chewing gum stretched out until it was translucent. Something terrible had happened to those hands. Nicolette directed Cade and Chris into a corner, out of the line of sight of the portal.

The gateway visibly flickered. Brock called out again. “Die Brücke stürzt ein!”

Hex deftly unhooked Cade’s rifle and started shooting through the portal. “Rhino! We’re out of time! Get in here!”

Without having planned his movements, Raz found himself looking past Hex’s shoulder, where she was firing through the portal, at what looked like it used to be the inside of a building. One man wearing tan fatigues and an oversized wristwatch flashing with a steady yellow was wrestling with a man and a woman. The two of them were both geared in high-tech riot armor. Raz thought he recognized the woman’s profile, but neither of the men looked familiar.

“Who’s on our side?” he asked Hex.

“What? I can’t hear you!” she yelled, then fired the rifle at the woman. The bullets hit, but didn’t seem to accomplish anything.

I think that answers the question.

He repeated the question into her ear at a shout.

“Rhino is the yellow flashy guy!” she called out before he vanished into a pulse of blinding light that crossed the gap at a significant fraction of the speed of light.

On the other side of the portal and the world, he materialized next to the man and woman who were holding Rhino prone. The hot, thick air was so different from the cool dry air he’d just left behind that it felt like the air itself was pressing in on him. Raz had arrived in deep slow time, so took the moment to take in the situation before trying to extricate Rhino. In addition to the sleek combat armor, the woman had heavily reinforced shoes, with high traction thick soles, and combat gloves reminiscent of his own. The two attackers were pressing a shiny glass tube to Rhino’s neck. Inside the tube was a familiar shiny crystalline construct.

It’s one of those damn chips!

[Implant online: Six node localnet detected:]

Not now Bee!

Then he took his first breath in the new location and was again struck by the familiar feel of the warm, thick, humid air. The high pollen count and the melange of scents told him he was back in Georgia. He felt something similar to one of Mercator’s portals, but thin, and reedy, almost anemic, compared to the robust flow of energy used by the dead giant. Raz wasted another second looking around for the portal. His neck and eyes strained against the thick heavy feeling of moving during slow time as he scanned around himself for a portal. He didn’t see one, but by now, he’d spent the advantage of surprise. The combatants had noticed him.

The woman snapped her gaze back at him, took in his appearance in a glance, then took advantage of his distraction and kicked out at him. Even deep within slow time, the speed of her kick was astounding. He barely started to move away from it when her foot slammed into his pelvis. She watched him fly back toward the wall behind him, then immediately turned her attention back to restraining Rhino.

Only as he bounced off the wall in a cloud of dust and debris did Raz notice the portal he’d come through was gone.

Good move man! Really good thinking! If you hadn’t decided to blast through that portal for a guy you don’t even know, you’d have been in danger of being able to relax for a while before it all hits the fan.

He sprang to his feet with a growl he couldn’t contain, pushing himself against the slow time resistance with greater strength by the millisecond. Rhino’s watch was flashing orange pulses. Was slow yellow, now faster orange, that's probably not a good sign.

Raz dropped a Friendly Fire on the guy he was pretty sure was Rhino, and marked the other two with Ground Control and Ionized Path. He started to draw in White Fire. He clenched his fists, only to find the weapon in his right hand. The weapon gathered up his harvested power, flaring into a brilliant static blaze.

I hope I can just put them down. I’d rather not kill them.

The man and woman turned on him as one. They looked at him with eyes that seemed devoid of emotion or concern, yet fanatically committed to their actions. Her hand flashed down into the rubble around them as the other man pointed one of his hands at Raz. Nearly simultaneously, Raz was struck by two attacks. The first attack felt as though a ton of weight was pressing down on him. It was as though he instantly weighed ten times his normal weight. A HUD message informed him that he was experiencing an 11x gravity flux. With his new strength, this was bearable, but still a big problem. The second attack was a thrown brick. He spotted it just in time to shift his head to the side. The brick brushed past his ear with more than enough force to have ended his story had it struck him squarely.

Dodging the thrown brick, and dealing with the sudden influx of weight threw his balance off, slowed his movements, and most importantly, distracted him long enough for the woman to rapidly accelerate toward him and slam her reinforced glove into his chest. The armor went rigid under the impact, taking the brunt of the forceful blow into itself. The moment she struck, the oppressive weight inverted. He was instantly extremely light, flying back through the air as though she’d flicked a marble. Before he’d even hit the wall behind him, she’d moved ahead of him in a blur of speed and hit him with a crushing kick from behind.

The backplate of his armor took the kick, leaving him to deal with being thrown forward into another wall. The woman immediately ignored him and sped back to Rhino, whose watch was blinking a fast red.

Still in slow time, Raz broke his impact and caught himself against the wall with his arms and feet before rolling in the air to regain his footing.

Ok, no more playing around. Skybolt!

Raz pulled in a rush of White Fire. The weapon was already charged, so all the new energy flowed into his attack. In the blink of an eye, a blade of lightning formed below and above the three of them. The power of the bolt channeled into both of the enemies, leaving Rhino unharmed.

They both went down, hard. The man froze in a rictus of pain then went limp, thin trails of smoke exiting his nose and mouth. The woman was thrown across the room, landing like a ragdoll against one of the intact walls.

[Implant localnet reduced to five nodes.]

Who cares! Gotta get out of here!

The glass tube was on the ground, the chip still inside. As he was about to crush it under his heel, spotted a threaded cap on the floor that matched the end of the tube. Raz changed his mind and scooped them both up and slipped the capped tube into his pocket. Doing this with one hand made him realize the weapon was still in his right hand, filling the air with the scent of ozone and the room with blinding glare, Raz let the White Fire drain from the weapon and down into the earth. He didn’t like that he could still feel a tiny thread of energy in play somewhere nearby, energy that very much reminded him of Mercator’s portals.

I swear, Mercator better not be still alive!

Raz then went to Rhino and reached down to help the man to his feet. The man’s watch flashed red, then blinked out with a low warning tone. Rhino spun and launched a fist at Raz’s face. Only remaining in the slow time allowed Raz to turn his face away from the sucker punch. Raz stepped back from the punch and shoved the man to the ground. As Rhino floundered on the floor, Raz looked at the two downed enemies and decided to risk talking to him. “Whoa man, chill! I’m here to help. You’re Rhino right?”

The man rolled over into a crouch, his eyes scanning the room before nodding at Raz. “Sorry man. Thanks for the help. Are we getting another extraction? I took down the rest of these damn headcases outside, but these two messed me up.” Rhino stopped short, and looked up at Raz intently for a moment, then shook his head. “Sorry, you look sorta familiar. I thought maybe I knew you.” he took Raz’s outstretched gauntlet.

“I don’t think we’ve met,” Raz said as he hauled him to his feet, and the two men leaned on each other for a few seconds. Raz became aware of the sudden onslaught of aches and bruises from the woman’s savage attacks.

Rhino shook his head, “Damn you’re tall.”

Nah, you’re just short. “So, headcases?” he prompted.

Rhino nodded, still panting. “They’re crazy. If you’re not fighting them, it’s like you don’t exist. They pretty much just walk past you. They all have this dead look in their eyes, it's somehow a mix of raving insanity and totally catatonic. They all have abilities, and they’re all wearing that armor.”

Raz looked at the dead man at his feet, and the still form of the woman across the room. “What kind of abilities?”

Rhino shrugged. “I wasn’t taking notes. One of ‘em hit me pretty hard, and another one had a kind of beam ability. I didn’t even see what the others had. Barricade held them back with his—uh—barricades. Most things don’t affect me much when I’m—” he looked at his watch and cut himself off. After an awkward moment, he looked at Raz with furrowed brow, “Anyway, I can take a hit. They was armed, and coming for me and my friends, so I took ‘em out.”

“I get it, It looks like you had no choice.” Raz agreed with the man, his senses straining to detect any enemies or threats in the area. Somewhere nearby, he could hear a number of faint heartbeats. Some of them fast, some of them slowing down. One of the slowing heartbeats stopped.

[Implant localnet reduced to four nodes.]

Is this an implant like the one we had to fight? Are these Braithwaite’s people? Or Martine’s, whoever that is.

Rhino nodded vigorously. “Like I said, I trashed ‘em good, but we need to get out of here. These crazies ain't normal! They don’t stop until you lay a real beating on them. Gotta just about kill ‘em. You got a way to call the flashy door thing back? The headcases might have backup on the way.”

[Yes, they are similar devices, although the information I’m detecting through our implant indicates these are older, less sophisticated versions than the one we have.]

I hope that’s good news.

[I do not know if they are in some way connected to Braithwaite.]

Not optimal, but kind of what I expected.

Raz clapped Rhino on the shoulder and pointed them at the exit. “So, where are we?”

Rhino rolled his neck and shoulders, wincing as he did. “North Georgia Mountains. Just a skip away from the Chattahoochee National Forest,” he headed for the shattered opening in the wall that led outside, “that don’t matter. We gotta get out of here. I’ve got nothing le—I’ve got no idea if they’re still dangerous.”

Well, if we’re still safe from being remotely detonated, or having the chip control us, can you communicate with these chips?

[Working on it. They have an access code lock, but this chip has built-in tools to break that lock.]

Good. Keep at it. Never know what kind of edge that will give us.

“You asked about that door. Good news, I might be able to get that door back. But we’re going to need a phone.” Raz said, thinking about his recent bad luck with phones. The feeling of a portal nearby caused him to snap his gaze to the right, looking back the way they’d come. He could sense the energy flowing, but couldn’t see anything causing it. I don’t like this!

Rhino reached into a pocket on the side of his pants. “Oh yeah, you can use mine,” he held up a shattered phone, “uh, or not. Damn, that one was new!”

[Might rank 2: Stabilize: Assimilation level: 16%]

That feels random, but thanks for the update.

[Not random. Engaging in earnest combat increased the Assimilation rate!]

Oh, that is good to know, thanks.

Raz looked around at the rubble surrounding them. “Think this place has a phone?”

Rhino nodded. “Good idea! There’s a landline in the nurses’ station.”

They picked their way through the broken building. Some walls were still completely intact, others were fine except for one or more man-sized holes torn in them. The rest were all in various states of destruction and collapse. The room that served as the nurses’ station was mostly intact. One of the locked pharmacy containers sat, apparently untouched, while the other had been slammed halfway through the side concrete wall, bringing the cabinets down on it, and blocking access to the rear of the room. In front of the locked cabinets was an old steel desk, with a computer and a phone on it. As they entered the room, a nearby beating heart sped up. It sounded like it was coming from inside the room. Over the scent of blood, feces, burned wood, and ozone, Raz could just make out a hint of the fresh scent of fear.

Raz put his arm out to stop Rhino. “I think we might have a survivor here. They’re scared, we need to be careful.” He whispered.

Rhino nodded and motioned for Raz to go first.

Gee thanks. Don’t mind if I do.

[I am making significant progress on these implants. I doubt we’ll be able to assume admin roles any time soon, but I should be able to get them to take simple verbal directives soon enough. We’ll just need to figure out, or decode the verbal commands.]

Nice, that’s good to hear.

He called out into the room “Is anyone in the nurses’ station? We’re friendlies.”

There was no answer, but that same nearby pulse began to race.

“Come on, I know you’re there. I’m here to help, I just need the phone.”

A hirsute arm reached up from behind the desk and snatched the phone. “Go away! I’ll rip it right out of the wall if you come any closer!” A man called out in a terrified voice.

Raz sighed. “Look man, we’re not here to cause trouble. We’re not the attackers. Are you hurt? I can help.”

Rhino called out. “Arturo? Is that you? It’s Rhin—Ricardo. I’ve got a friend with me. Are you ok?”

A dark-haired man wearing glasses peeked over the top of the desk. His expression looked scared, but his voice sounded hopeful. “Mr. Santos? I saw you out there, with those other… You tore my car in half!”

Rhino shook his head. “Oh man, was that your car? I’m not the one who threw it! I couldn’t let it hit the building. The laser guy was the main reason your car came apart. But hey, I’ll pay you back for it, promise. Are you ok?”

Arturo shook his head no. “Yeah, I’m fine. But, I mean, my car!” his voice rose, bordering on the shrill.

Rhino kept his voice calm. “Hey man, it’s all good. I’ll buy you a new car. Hell, I’ll buy you a better one. You work here, so you must know we all have abilities. Those bad guys who attacked us had ‘em too. Seriously, sorry about your car, that's why we need to get on the phone!”

The other man seemed to be calming down. “Yeah, ok. I get that. I just never saw anything like it. Is Iris with you? Is she ok?”

Rhino sucked in a hard breath. “She’s not in there with you? Oh shit. I haven’t seen her.”

Facing the cowering man, Raz could hear a second heartbeat in the room, faint, and slowing down. He pushed himself past Rhino. “You, Arturo. Is this where Iris would have come?”

He nodded, then wiped the sweat from his glasses. “Definitely! The first duty in an emergency is to secure the medical cabinets, then call for help. She should have been here!”

Raz cupped his hands over his ears and panned his head across the room. There! Has to be under that rear cabinet where something hit the room.

“Rhino, do you have Hex’s phone number?”

Rhino gave him a thumbs up. “Yep, it’s in my—Oh, uh, no. I don’t have it.”

Of course, who knows any numbers these days. Raz locked eyes with Arturo. “You, give Rhi—Ricardo, the phone. I think your coworker is behind you under that cabinet.” he pointed to the wreckage at the rear of the room.

The Hispanic man shoved the phone toward Rhino and turned to the collapsed area. “Oh no! Are you sure?”

Raz strode by him without a glance. “Of course I’m not sure. But someone is back there.”

It was the work of seconds to slide the desk forward against the wall by Rhino, and then rattle off one of Hex’s phone numbers to him. The first cabinet was still on rollers. It moved easily enough, forcing Arturo to move along with it. As Rhino dialed the number, Raz turned his attention to the second cabinet. It was a standard full-height cabinet. He estimated it to be about 1.22m wide, and maybe 1.83m wide. As he got closer to the rear of the room he could smell blood, urine, and the natural odor of a human in great pain, scents he’d recently become all too familiar with.

“Whoever is back there is hurt. They need help right away!” He said over his shoulder.

Rhino finally got someone on the phone.

“Just tell her to get the gate back asap! I need your help over here.” Raz snapped at him.

Raz squatted down and tried to get a grip on the smooth metal sides. The top end was resting on the counter in the rear of the room. Even from here, Raz could see that counter sagging ominously. From this side, in the narrow room, all he could do was get a couple of fingertips under the smooth corner resting against the floor. Arturo saw him do it and came over. “You can’t move it that way. These cabinets are over six hundred pounds each!”

Raz snarled, his frustration getting the better of him. “You got a better idea? I think someone is back there, maybe under that counter, certainly under this cabinet. You got a heavy loader in your back pocket? If you aren’t helping, then shut the hell up!”

Arturo put up shaking hands and backed away.

Rhino set the receiver down on the desk and came over to Raz. “I’ll help. Even if you can lift it, you’ll need another set of hands, or you might just drop it on her. She’s a good person, I wouldn’t want that to happen to her.”

Together they managed to tilt the cabinet back toward them, getting it back on its wheels. The weight of the cabinet didn’t seem to matter at all, but it was incredibly awkward. By the end, even Arturo was grabbing at the handles to pull it toward upright.

Arturo was the first to see behind the cabinet. He gasped and immediately spun away, spraying vomit on the floor. Raz took a look and winced. It was bad. Even Rhino, who he presumed to have seen some action, made a little gagging sound in the back of his throat.

A young lady in a t-shirt and jeans was sprawled there awkwardly. Both arms were obviously broken, and her face showed signs of a major blunt force trauma. She was still breathing, her shallow wheezing breath blowing bubbles in bloody mucus at her lips. As he watched, a bloody tooth fell out of her gaping mouth. Raz dropped to his knee and put a hand on her bare ankle. A single pulse of Diagnose 2 told him it was bad. The cracked rib pressing on her pleura would add a sucking wound to her injury list if she was even moved without great care. Raz got set to start healing her, then remembered where he was.

“This girl needs help soon. Do we have a portal incoming?”

Rhino sighed. “She said they’re working on it. Apparently, there’s some interference.”

The moment he used Diagnose, something had stirred nearby. It was moving elsewhere in the building. Raz heard it, felt it, the sound was soft, almost stealthy.

Raz looked to Arturo. The man was staring at Iris, his mouth moving but making no sound. “Arturo! Stay focussed. We need a stretcher!”

Arturo blinked and looked at Raz. His attitude seemed to reverse itself. “You can’t just take clinic property! I don’t have to—urk!”

Raz interrupted him by grabbing at his shirt, clenching a handful of it in his fist, and yanking the slightly portly man toward him. The man moved in his grip as though he weighed no more than a pillow. The pull felt effortless.

“Give me a damned stretcher or so help me, I will—” Raz started, then cut himself off and let him go, recognizing his own rising rage. “Just get the stretcher!” He barely recognized his own increasingly gravelly voice.

Arturo scurried out of the room, leaving a trailing scent of fresh urine.

Raz struggled to maintain his composure. “We might not have much time!” He growled urgently to Rhino.

Rhino nodded, looking at Raz with a new wariness. Raz turned around to keep an eye out behind them, extending his senses outward. Through several broken and a few intact walls, he could see one of his Ground Control and Ionized Path chevrons moving. Electrosense confirmed it was the fast-moving woman. He watched the amalgamated image of her get to its feet.

“That lady who was holding you down is back up. We gotta go!” Raz insisted.

The feeling of the portal energy was still there, flirting with the edge of his awareness, but never anything he could spot. He debated calling out to the woman but decided he’d prefer she continue to think she had the element of surprise.

As Arturo returned carrying a collapsible stretcher, Raz suddenly realized he could hear Sia and Brock talking, the sound coming from somewhere behind him. Unwilling to look away from the open door for long, he glanced back in time to see a tiny opening appear on the wall. The sound was coming through it. The portal moved, and he realized he was looking at his mother’s eye through a tiny peephole!

“Mom? Is that your portal ability?!” He blurted out.

The opening expanded. She looked around the small room, then looked past him and Rhino warily. “Do you need a way back?” She murmured softly, eyes darting about nervously.

“Hell yes!” he all but shouted. “Get us out of here!”

The oval opening smoothly dilated open until it was large enough for Raz to have run through it with room to spare. The enemy combatant was closer now, too close. He pointed at Arturo and Rhino. “Get through that portal! Go now! Rhino, pull her through when you get to the other side!”

Rhino grabbed Arturo by the scruff of his shirt and manhandled the man past the supine Iris. Once across the threshold, Rhino dropped him and turned around to pull on the girl, careful to avoid her broken arms. Raz pushed on her legs to help ease her through the portal. Somewhere behind him, his target markers were still moving with care and stealth.

As the girl was nearly through, Rhino looked past Raz and started to say something. Damnit, I knew this was gonna happen!

He let go of Iris’s legs and wheeled around to meet the charging woman. She was much faster than he anticipated, landing a hit on him before he even completed the turn. Even his use of slow time wasn't enough to keep up with her. He barely caught the kick on his crossed forearms. The colossal impact threw him back toward the portal. He just had time to note that her hits were not even close to Mercator, or even Fidel’s level, and to hope he wouldn’t land on Iris when the fast-moving women caught up with him and hit him again in the air.

Instead of landing on the already hurt Iris, he slammed into the inner mantrap door. Somehow his mother had altered the portal destination vector without affecting its incoming vector. He didn’t have time to think about this when the woman was on him again.

White Fire suffused him, then flashed into her with a loud crackle and the sudden scent of ozone. She staggered at the hit, and her armor burst into flames. With her armor on fire, she struggled to her feet and came at him again. Another blast of lightning put her down hard.

Got that key yet? I’m going to have to go to fully lethal here real soon if not.

She launched herself at him, leaving a trail of smoke as she attempted to knee him in the chest. Raz caught the blow and managed to sidestep most of the impact. She hit the wall hard and bounced to her feet as though it was nothing. Then her long hair caught fire. In an instant, her head was engulfed in flames. The woman began to scream in pain, but continued to advance on Raz as though her personal pain and this fight had nothing to do with each other.

[Her name is Lisa. Try saying her name, then telling her to stop.]

“Lisa! Stop!” Raz commanded her in a firm voice. The fist that answered his directive was just enough slower that for the first time in the fight he was able to actually dodge one of her hits. He stretched out his hand and struck her again with what he was coming to think of as his ‘taser’ effect. A small arc of energy leapt from him to her and sent her spasming to the floor.

“Lisa! Halt!” He tried next.

She ignored this command as well, flailing her limbs and struggling to get back up.

[She can’t stop. She’ll fight until she dies.]

Raz dodged her strike. It was clear she was weakening.

That’s great, but I’m trying not to kill her!

“Lisa! Stand Down!” She abruptly fell to the floor limp, like a puppet bereft of strings.

With everyone working together, a makeshift hospital had been formed on Brock’s various tables and countertops. Iris lay on one, Lisa on another, and Chris had just loudly told them all they could go to hell, he was fine in the chair. Arturo was sitting next to Iris’s table crying softly.

Hildolfer came inside, and looked around in shock. “What the hell is all this? What’d I miss?”

Brock turned to Hildolfer with a shocked, but reverent expression and bowed. "My lord! It's good to see you again!"

The scene ground to a halt then froze. Then the color and depth leached out of it until it was a flat black and white image. Then the image itself receded away until it vanished.

෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴

Actuality

෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴

11 hours, 25 minutes until Nemesis.

As the experiential datastream came to an end, this time, the room was full of the sounds of retching and soon enough, the scent of vomit as well. The subtle sound and feel of various utility abilities being used to clear up the isolated messes indicated both discipline and skill.

The black-clad young man nodded to the General, and retook the podium.

“That one was long and rough. I wish there was another way to bring you up to speed. Much of what you now know is a secret. Tell your battlegroup what they need to know for Operation Nemesis. Afterward, you can tell them whatever you like.”

The man looked back at the General, and leaned forward on the podium, for a moment looking like nothing more than a tired young man. He pinched the bridge of his nose, took a deep breath, and stood up straight. “I don’t have another speech for you. If the weight of all human history, and the knowledge that without your efforts, humanity has no future, isn’t enough, I don’t think any words of mine will help,” He took a breath, and when he spoke again, his words echoed and carried in the room in a way that had nothing to do with the microphone or speakers. “But!” he cracked the word like a whip, “I know every one of you. Not one of you would be here now if I didn’t know for a fact that you take the protection of our species and our world seriously. Your interface alone proves it. I have one more for you, to bring you up to speed.”

With that, he mentally hit send and waited until each interface in the room had accepted and begun to play the experiential datastream. Then he made his way back to his seat by the General, suddenly looking surprisingly old and tired for such a young man. When he collapsed into the seat, the General looked at him with concern. “Are you alright sir?”

Raz nodded. “Yeah, just feeling the weight of years.” He saw the General’s confused expression. “Don’t worry about it. You’d have to experience everything they are, to really get it.”

A flash of irritation crossed the General’s face before he nodded. “Will we win?”

Raz rubbed at his temples. “The real answer is, ‘We have to’.” he paused and then seemed to focus on something internal for a split second. “My personal answer is, I hope so, but I have no idea. If we don’t win, then it was all for nothing.”

The End (of Incursions: Book 2: Infiltration)

Just a reminder. I apologize in advance, but quality is going to fall off pretty sharply while I post my horrible first draft bullshit. Feel free to NOT read it, I will come through and clean it up, and repost those scenes when I've at least got them halfway edited.

In the meantime, feel free to tell me about all the mistakes I made, any thing you loved or hated about the story etc.

Stay tuned for Incursions: Book 3: Invasion)