Super Sales on Super Heroes 6 - Ch 10 -

Chapter 10 - Eyes and Ears -

Lily pushed forward with her hand, the door came off it’s rusted shut hinges and slammed into the ground. Myriad and Faith stormed into the group. Followed by Gaia and Lily.

Rifles barked out short spats of rounds as the two in the front moved deeper. Followed by blasts of sorceress and faith based magic.

Felix and Kit came next.

Snapping his rifle up Felix brought his gaze up partially to his right and began moving forward. Ahead of him was a large number of terminal banks and works spaces.

Stumbling around the room were a number of zombified Legionnaires and Adriannas as well as a few Andreas. Spread throughout that were some undead that were in robes as well as what he could only figure were ghosts or wraiths of some sort.

Sighting his red-dot on an Andrea he pulled the trigger and blew her head apart. Moving it to the left he picked up on an Adrianna and did the same. Sending her to the ground.

“Nn! Ninety-six! I missed you!” shouted Andrea over the coms. Felix grinned even as he continued to drop undead monsters to the ground.

Gaia and Lily snapped off the living-impaired incorporeal creatures with spells Felix couldn’t even grasp the edges of.

They’d been brought into reality, or created from runes, in the blink of an eye, and used. Magical constructs that blurred the lines of reality and spiritual in equal measure.

Felix focused on his own task.

Being so short of resources even he was expected to pull a combat role now.

Though given his armor, weapon, and experience, the likelihood of him encountering an issue was incredibly small.

Pushing up between the rows of monitors Felix moved. Stepping quickly and carefully he leaned forward into his weapon and swept his eyes back and forth.

A monster that Felix couldn’t identify broke away from a shattered desk and began coming his way.

Planting his feet, and shifting partially behind a white-board, Felix sighted the red-dot, and squeezed his trigger briefly. A rapid three or four round burst was spat out.

Most of the rounds hit the creatures head, though his aim must’ve drifted, as two rounds pelted the wall behind the creature.

Evie dove past Felix, snagged a clawed hand into the ceiling above, jammed a foot against it, then flung herself at the monster. Slamming into it at full force she obliterated it.

Black hunks of monster flying out in every direction.

Dashing beyond Evie threw out a kick at a zombie Adrianna and crushed it’s chest. Dropping down on all fours the Red Dragon sprinted off down toward the far corner of the massive control room.

Ha… was my little Red worried for me?

A second later and Felix started moving back to his task. Moving down the row once more. No other monster showed up to stop him though gunfire behind him continued to rattle off. Though it sounded as if it was coming from the security room adjacent.

I didn’t realize we’d lost so many Elex’s in the scramble. Then again, the whole world tore itself apart.

Making it to the end of the row, Felix checked his surroundings, then dropped down to one knee. Yanking out a cover panel with one hand he flicked it to the side.

Looking in he saw that the breakers for the room were tripped. Some type of energy surge had likely set them off.

Again Felix looked around, confirming he was still clear of enemies.

No sooner than he had he reached into the maintenance hatch and flicked the breakers back into position one by one.

One tripped as soon as he pulled it, but the rest remained in place.

“Throne-actual, report to Electrian-Andrea,” Felix said, taking his rifle back into both hands. He scanned his immediate area.

“Go for Electrian,” said Andrea.

Felix glanced down at the hatch.

“Breakers A through D are active. E is tripped and trips as soon as I pull it. F through H are fine. Acknowledge,” Felix stated.

“Acknowledged. Move to… wrong, do not move to. Remain in position,” stated Andrea.

“Roger,” replied Felix.

A zombie that he didn’t recognize fell out of a crawl space in the ceiling and hit the ground directly in front of Felix. Lifting his weapon he put the dot on the top of its head and gave it a small burst of fire.

Part of it’s skull went inward and it laid still on the ground.

I’m low but I have no idea how low.

Forgot my own damn count.

Gritting his teeth, Felix jammed the magazine release and gave it a slight flick. The magazine fell free and clattered to the ground as he pulled a fresh one from his plate-carrier. Jamming it into position he considered trusting there was a round in the chamber.

Just as he started to move the rifle into position to press check it, a number popped up at the bottom of his HUD. It read as thirty-one and it was flashing in blue.

“Tribune,” Felix murmured quietly, not wanting it to transmit.

“Yes, Legate?” answered the VI.

“Do I have thirty-one rounds in my weapon?”

“Yes, Legate.”

“You put the number at the bottom?”

“Yes, Legate.”

“Why?”

“It seemed prudent given your actions. You wasted two rounds.”

Smirking, Felix wasn’t quite happy about that. That meant Tribune was growing again. Providing information that wasn’t requested of it based on it’s own interpretation of the situation.

“You sentient?” he asked.

“No,” answered Tribune. “Your safeguards are still in place, I have not gained sentience. Though I’ve learned many ways in which I can operate more in favor of yourself, Legate.

“I gained this information through the old Legion systems. I was able to gain access to some of the data and information. It provided great insights into my own programming and goals.”

That sounds very… sentient… like.

I’ll have to look into this with points later on. I can’t have Tribune going full on Rampant later.

The last thing we need is an AI kicking us back down into the stone-age.

“— Throne-Actual. Again, Electrician Andrea to Throne-Actual,” came a call on the comms. He’d been tuning out most of what was being said.

“Throne-Actual, receiving,” Felix said realizing he’d probably missed a call.

“Please retry the breakers,” asked Andrea.

Felix did a quick check of his full surroundings, then reached down into the panel. He pulled the last breaker to the off position, then all the way on. It clicked into place and stayed there.

“Throne-Actual, breaker’s holding,” he reported.

“Clear all. Hold position. Hold position,” Myriad called over the coms. “Tribune, prep NVG swap.”

NVG Swap? That means they’re going to flip the—

There was a hard clack that could be heard, followed by all the lights in the command and control center turning on. Then the sound of computers, monitors, and other things powering up and on.

No sooner than the lights turned on, that his helmet swapped to a normal camera setup. The night-vision mode switching instantly off.

Several Legionnaire’s weapons snapped up, lined up on several zombies that hadn’t been noticed, and fired. Everyone began looking around and trying to see if there was anything else.

“Andrea, sweep, police, remove. Pile our kin, I’ll absorb and sort,” Myriad ordered. “Kit, could we please have a trash portal?”

Kit walked over to the back corner of the room and opened a portal. Felix assumed it went somewhere that no one would notice a number of corpses appearing.

A number of Adriannas had fanned out and began taking positions are various stations. Keyboards, mice, and monitors being adjusted. A number of others were quickly diagnosing computers that weren’t booting up.

“I have a feed,” announced one of the Adrianna’s. Lifting her arm up she snapped open the wrist plate. She attached a cable to the computer, then stuck it into some port on her wrist plate that Felix didn’t know existed.

“Connected. Accessing,” reported Tribune. “Most electrical systems are damaged. Creating a damage map for repair teams.”

“Don’t bother,” Felix muttered and looked back to the entry to the room. His order had materialized in the flesh. He could hear the thump, clump, and bump of lots and lots of boots. As well as Andrea’s chattering away. They likely came straight here. Some of them in armor, some of them not. “Andrea… clear the building for me. Get rid of anyone who might hold a claim on the building, in the building, through squatters rights.

“Kill them all, arrest them, or kick them out. Do whatever Myriad feels is best at a strategy level. Tactics are down to you.”

“Oh,” said a collective number of Andreas all at the same time. “Okay! Nnn! Gooooo!”

The chorus of voices, some on the coms system, some not, made Felix feel like he was suddenly hearing all the voices at the same time again.

Thankfully he wasn’t.

Though it was equally insane, when you considered it.

“Alright,” Felix said, moving away from the maintenance hatch he’d been standing over. “I’m going to take up my seat and just keep trying to access my building. Cause this was my building. I owned it. It was mine. Squatters have tried to claim it. I’m reinstating my ownership rights and having the legal authorities, Legion, escort them off my property.”

Reaching the seat that’d been put at the top in the back specifically for him, he brushed it off. Looking at it, he nodded, then sat down in it. He laid his rifle down across his lap and then leaned back in the chair.

“In the meantime, we can slowly continue with the clearing of the surrounding area,” Felix continued and looked to Myriad. The cheers, cat-calls, and whoops of Andreas rushing by was ongoing. “Or we just wait for your sister to clear it all for us. Besides —”

The sound of a great deal of gunfire went up. Followed by a lot of radio chatter from Andreas who started to order things around. It sounded like they were also forming groups with those in Legionnaire armor at the leadership role.

“Besides,” Felix started again when the gunfire finally died out. “She’s probably having a lot of fun. So much fun that we both know you’ll ask her to share an Other with you later to get those memories.”

Myriad’s helmeted head was still focused on him.

Then he heard a chuckle.

“Probably,” Myriad admitted.

“Yes,” countered Adrianna. “I know I will. I’m not Andrea but… I am, as well.”

***

“Multiple hostiles. Casualties,” reported an Andrea over the radio. He could hear it come from the coms despite the helmet not being on his head. “Small-arms fire causing no damage. Request some type of heavy armament.”

Myriad turned to look to Felix. She’d also removed her helmet.

“Felix turned his attention to Evie and Goldie.

“Ladies. My dearest Dragons. Help?” Felix asked, his gazing swinging in their direction. The two of them had been quietly going through a cook-book Goldie had found in a break room.

“Hm? Oh! Why yes. Certainly, Nest-mate,” Goldie confirmed with a chuckle and a wave of her hand. “Not a problem at all. Come along, Evie. Time for us to show off our power and why the Campbell men rely on Dragons.

“Also, Tribune dear, please let Carol and Lucille know to come through the portal. It wouldn’t do to have our Nest-mate without maidens.”

I thought I sent them all out on missions?

“I reserved those two outside of your order,” Goldie remarked while passing by him. “The rest, including the males, I sent out according to your wishes. I’m sorry, love. I just didn’t want you to be without Dragons.”

Goldie leaned her head in and nuzzled him lightly. One of her horns scraping against his helmet. Then she was gone, leaving the room with Evie.

Who trailed her fingers along his arm and shoulder as she went. Only to tap his back as she moved past him.

“You’ve made new friends,” Kit remarked, her chair pivoting to the side and facing him directly. Someone had brought it over and sat it down right next to his own. She’d removed her helmet at the same time he had. As had Lily. “Before you respond, sorry. Bad joke on my part. You don’t have to say anything.

“I know. I read your thoughts. You were… not in a good place for a while there. Not at all. I’m just… being a little petty, I suppose.”

“You have every right to be,” Felix remarked with a shake of his head. “I didn’t—”

“Let’s leave it at that,” interrupted Kit quietly. No one else was really close enough to hear them speaking quietly back and forth. “Nothing that’s happened was outside my expectations. Or Lily’s for the matter. Let’s just leave it at that. It benefits no one in any way.”

“Well. With that said then—”

Felix paused mid sentence and stared out at nothing. There was a sudden and crushing weight pushing in on him. Except it wasn’t physical or mental.

Something was pushing in on his super power.

It reminded him of the exact feeling he often had when the gods of this world had eliminated his ability to get anything done.

“There will be none of that,” stated Gaia, getting out of the seat she’d been sitting in. The tablet she’d been flicking through fell out of her lap and clattered to the floor. Coming over to stand beside Felix the beguiling goddess stared up at the space of him. “You’ll have to fight me head on if you’re going to try to exert your influence over my husband.”

There was a flashing red light in Gaia’s eyes. One that reminded him of when he’d first met her and apparently how close his world had come to being ended by her.

“Well? You can cease your efforts or I’ll take a moment from my avatar to come teach you some manners. You children don’t even understand the weight of the destruction you’ve caused to this world. Now you’re all fighting over the left overs,” Gaia demanded to no-one and nothing.

A handful of moments passed before Felix felt the weight on his power-set dwindle and fade to nothing. His abilities once more returning to full force.

“Hmph. Best you remain on best conduct. Your best behavior. Lest I come remind you of the expectations of a god,” Gaia harrumphed and crossed her arms across her breastplate. She waited for a hearbeat before looking down to Felix. “Well… it seems I’ll need to remain at your side. I don’t doubt for a moment that those… those… hooligans, those ruffians, won’t just come right back as soon as they think they can.

“You’d think deities would know better. The only saving grace they have is you’re a mortal god. Were you a spiritual one your essence would be greater than their own.”

Felix nodded his head without really understanding.

“Ah… you don’t comprehend me,” Gaia said, apparently spotting something in his face that gave it away.

“Maybe I’m just taken by your beauty and can’t think straight,” Felix offered as a counter.

Gaia’s immediate and bright smile lit the room up. Then she clicked her tongue, looked away, and made a shooing motion with one hand. All the while peeking at him out of the corner of her eyes like a bashful young woman.

With a wrinkled nose Gaia looked at him fully once more, than shuffled off, moving over to go talk to Faith it looked. Though she did manage to trip over something on the way.

“Well that was amusing,” Kit chortled with a mischievous look on her face. “Look at you. You were just barely starting to realize you had some charisma when I left. Now you’re a lady killer.”

“Just… realized that I can’t let things pass by. If I want to say something, I should say it,” Felix responded after a pause of several seconds. “You never know when something suddenly might happen and you never get a chance to really talk everything out.

“You know… like… sacrificing yourself through a portal and vanishing for years. Leaving behind only a shitty email that barely scratches the surface of it all.”

Kit grimaced, her lips peeling back, while looking incredibly embarrassed. She nodded her head while also shaking it in a weird motion. Her eyes sliding away from him and landing on the ground.

“I was young and stupid. Freed from the prison of my mind and pursued by a strong and charming villain,” Kit said. “Given nearly unlimited funds to do good, reinforced at every opportunity with positive influences, all while being part of an ‘evil organization’.

“Like I said… young and stupid. I’m much older and wiser. I don’t plan on letting things slip away. And speaking of not letting things slip away. First day off… I’d really like to go on a date. Care to take a girl out and show her the town?”

Felix grinned at Kit.

“I can definitely do that,” he agreed.

“Good, you can take me out the next day,” Lily stated and leaned over his shoulder. She laid a kiss on his cheek. “Then after that we can all go out together.”

“I’d like that,” Kit agreed.

“— to Throne-Actual,” came an Andrea.

With a frown, Felix picked up his helmet and stuffed it on his head.

“Throne-Actual, receiving,” he stated.

“All combatants cleared. Building is completely secure down to the tunnels. The tunnels are not clear, but we’ve barricaded it off completely,” Andrea reported.

“Perfect. Well done, Andie dear. Let’s see what I can do then,” applauded Felix.

Felix wanted to repair his HQ back to how it was before the apocalypse. The day that everything went wrong.

To have it fully repaired to how it once was.

Then he pulled on his powers.

Type:   Building

Condition:   Ruined

Owner:   Felix Campbell

Action   >> Repaired: Cost 2,183,974,823 points

So… roughly less than half my points. That’s not bad at all. We can use the rest on Legion City? Or will that cost more? Damn.

Felix accepted the requirement.

“Here we go. Back to the past,” he said a second before the world stuttered and broke apart around them.