Singularity: Part 16
Energy built and then spread outward in an explosion of power, but fortunately not a physical one. Well, sort of fortunately, in the sense that it was a lot of energy that I’d rather not be hit with. It was less fortunate in the sense that Power Burst, Jody, Amnesia Angel, Artemis, Scream Eagle, and maybe again Ray had absorbed a lot of energy and I had little doubt they intended to transfer it in my direction.
If I hadn’t been flying and aiming lasers at the Cabal, I might have tried to reach in and cut off Magnus’ power. That might end the fight, depending on how giving out powers worked. If empowering minions were more like lighting a candle than plugging in a radio, it would be harder.
Still, my era of the Heroes’ League had beaten them once before and even if I wasn’t coordinating quite as well with my grandparents’ version of the team, they had years of experience.
Plus, if I pulled a sword into being, it should still work.
Except, right after Magnus’ empowered his people, giving all of them a bright golden glow, I felt power build again, this time moving from nothing to something in an instant.
A blast of golden light, made of the same stuff as my sword, lashed out toward C and Prentkos. C jumped, avoiding the beam. Prentkos went down, lying on the ground next to the last bunch of True he’d taken out.
C then ran straight for Magnus, quickly enough that I couldn’t see him do it. I’d designed my HUD’s tracking system with Jaclyn in mind, though. Even though I didn’t see C, I did see a line go from C’s position to where Magnus sat on his throne.
Ray stood to his right.
C didn’t make it the throne, Magnus, or Ray.
A soft, gold glow, much like what surrounded Magnus’ empowered minions, encircled the throne. Though I didn’t see C punch it, I saw the aftereffects.
It rippled, spreading out from a spot to Magnus’ left, but it didn’t shatter. Not only that, the throne then pulled power visibly from the spheres above us.
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Except then C’s trail exploded from an obvious line to a circle around the room combined with unpredictable twists and turns everywhere. It made no sense except that I’d noticed that I couldn’t see Jody anymore.
My implant, however, could pick up more than I had time to notice, slowing down what was going on enough for me to see them. Jody had his knives out—which left a knot in my stomach. Even if they were off brand imitations of Grandpa’s and my monomolecular blade technology, C didn’t have any defense against them except for speed.
I’d always wondered if he was faster at his peak than Jaclyn was so far and this was an argument for it. Jody was faster than Jaclyn. Jody with a power-up from Magnus might have been faster than C, but not fast enough that I could see a difference.
In my implant’s replay, Jody slashed with the knives and C stepped back, stepped sideways and broke away, but C didn’t run. He brought his foot down, hard and fast against the ground, sliding it Jody’s direction, throwing bits of whatever substance it was in Jody’s direction, a spray of dust traveling at hundreds, perhaps thousands, of miles per hour.
Jody wore his silver, black, and white Justice Fist costume. It probably included armor, but the flying grit hit it and Jody flinched, darting away.
I could have watched more, but I didn’t have time. With C busy, someone would have to take out whatever force field Magnus had willed into being. It would have to be me.
Except… It wasn’t going to be that easy. Power Burst shot up toward Grandpa, Giles, and I, trailed by Scream Eagle—which Grandpa and I would have to deal with Power Burst while also fighting Scream Eagle for control of our own armor.
It did not work out that way. It was much worse.
Power Burst shot upward with all the speed he had, a blur in blue. Slowing to scream at us, he blinked when none of the three of us reacted, protected not only by my buzzers, but also because Grandpa had been using the sonics as weapons since World War 2. He’d have had to be an idiot not to prepare his team and he wasn’t.
None of us slowed. In fact, we aimed for him. As I began to aim my laser at him, knowing it wouldn’t kill him, but might slow him down, he flew toward Giles.
My beam hit Power Burst, but only for moment, while his punch or series of punches knocked Giles out of the air and toward the floor.
He lay there unconscious.
Neither Grandpa nor I had time to react, but that may have been a good thing because it meant neither of us were in the way of a series of plasma bolts that Captain Commando fired from below.
Bright yellow, they struck Power Burst in quick succession, all three hitting even if they didn’t hit his flesh. Like Izzy, Power Burst’s silvery force shield became visible when energy weapons hit him, outlining his body.
Though his mouth tightened in pain or surprise, he wheeled before I could take a shot at him, turning into a blue streak of light as he flew toward Captain Commando’s direction.
By then Scream Eagle was upon us.