Mod Superhero (Book 4 STUB on JULY 30th)

Chapter 4.48 - Maximillian 4 / Serenity 3

As soon as Mod and Arsenal left, the metaphorical shit hit the proverbial fan.

McGuire wasn't exactly in-favor of splitting the party. It never ended well in movies—especially horror movies. And the longer the battle went on, the more McGuire was convinced they weren't in a feel-good coming-of-age story.

He definitely wasn't in favor of his two most powerful allies running off to be heroes—

Not even when half the swarm immediately turned to follow them.

Two scaly soldiers peered over the edge of the roof, teeth chattering menacingly, then leapt off the building. The mass of Deep Ones surged back on itself, the chaotic mass almost turning into a whirlpool in the streets—half of them trying to destroy humanity, the other half of them climbing wildly over the rest as they fixated on two artificers.

For a brief moment, the rooftop was clear and even the sound of machinegun fire slowed. McGuire's jaw dropped open.

Arsenal's voice came over the comms. "Uh, Mod..."

"What?"

"I think the swarm is following us."

McGuire added, "Not all of them. Just most of them."

Cherry didn't stop firing. "What did you guys do to piss them off?"

The shadow tree batted away another fish-men. Tuke let out a mournful cry, and Indovu growled in concern.

Larian looked to Serenity. "Can you sense why they're following Mod and Arsenal?"

The psychic floated and peered out through the branches of the shadow tree. "The Deep Ones are following their psychic signature... They're angry—"

Serenity lurched out of the air and stumbled across the roof. Larian went to her side and helped her stand. Her breath was shaky and her eyes were clenched in pain.

TINA's voice came through the comms. "It's not just Mod and Arsenal. The Deep Ones are concentrating their efforts on other supers as well. As soon as a super is isolated, they are singled out for attack."

If McGuire's stomach turned until it felt like his gut was doing somersaults. "Then we have to help them!"

He was already slinging his pack off his shoulders when Serenity shook her head. "You can't be anywhere near those crystals. None of us can."

"What about the military? Tell them to order an airstrike or something!"

Serenity's eyes closed in concentration. "The military's stretched thin. Even if they can get an airstrike over here, it's going to take minutes. Minutes that we don't have."

McGuire's hands felt heavy. He turned and watched his friends growing smaller and smaller as they ran across the Belport skyline. Serenity was right—the airstrike would be too late. Either it would be on top of Mod and Arsenal, or on top of the rest of them.

"...So I'm just supposed to let them go?"

McGuire had already let Mod go once. His best friend had nearly drowned in the tunnels after they fought The Freakshow. McGuire wasn't sure he could let his buddy go again.

Serenity put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I know what you're feeling... You can't beat yourself up over what happened before. We don't have a lot of options and they all suck. But right now, you need to trust your friends."

McGuire's shoulders sagged, but a tiny fire kindled in him. He did trust Mod and Arsenal, and they were stronger than anyone else he knew. McGuire might not be as powerful as them, but he could use their confidence.

"Fine, but this still blows..." McGuire stifled a groan as one of his autopinchers triggered. "Wait a second! Did you just read my mind without my consent?"

Serenity coughed. "I don't know what you're talking about. Heads up, everyone! The military is evacuating this location and falling back two blocks. Helicopters will be here in two minutes, which means we need to hold on until then."

A fish-man appeared to McGuire's right, climbing over the edge of the roof. He pulled back his slingshot and fired, sending it tumbling back to the surf.

~ ~

Serenity had tugged on McGuire's emotions. It wasn't much—just enough to take the edge of his doubt and his worry—but the gadgeteer had noticed it.

She needed to be more careful about that.

Serenity floated off the roof until she was just beneath the dark branches of the shadow tree. Even though she could feel the psychic topography of the battlefield, she still liked to see things. Usually, it was a comfort thing, but she didn't completely trust her mind's eye.

Normally, the topography of Belport was filled with people, each like tiny campfires in the dark. But the Deep Ones were connected to one another. They stretched out like a web across the city, individuals blending and merging with one another until it was impossible to tell where one fish-man soldier ended and another began. The web of their soldiers also hid their specialized units.

Shock troopers had already snuck up on them once. They'd been able to hide behind the background noise, appearing suddenly in Serenity's mind, like a spark of fire or a splinter of pain. Thankfully, Mod had dealt with them quickly.

The web of psychic energy had even hidden the approach of the monstrosity and the mage. With so much power and influence, Serenity should have been able to feel them sooner.

The first time Serenity had felt the Deep Ones, it had felt like brushing against a spider's web or like seeing sharks in the darkness. Each time she peered too close, she would be overwhelmed by fear, like a child cracking open the door to a dark, creepy basement. She could only open it for a moment before slamming the door shut again out of fear.

But today when she peered through the psychic door, hands burst through the crack and grabbed for her. Tried to drag her inside. Each time, Serenity threw her back against the door and struggled to shut it.

Maybe Serenity had been too small to notice before. Maybe the Deep Ones had been preoccupied with other supers. But today, each time she peered too close, the Deep Ones would focus their psychic gaze on her.

Flashes of darkness. Needle-sharp teeth. The taste of salt. The feeling of drowning.

A stampede of wet feet. Hands grabbing for her. Claws tearing at her skin—

Serenity slammed the psychic door shut.

She focused her mind elsewhere and tried to control her breathing. She reinforced the psychic soft link between people in the building, then searched the lower sections for wounded soldiers. Serenity eased what pain she could and focused their attention on the fight.

Fear spiked in Serenity's mind. The long gnarled limbs of a shock trooper sent chills through a dozen soldiers as it climbed through a third-floor window. It swiped at one of the mounted guns, knocking over the structure and the two soldiers manning it. They scrambled backward as its claws gouged at the floor.

The rest of the soldiers trained their weapons on it, shredding the creature before it made it through the window. It tumbled lifelessly into the surf.

A cheer rang out from the third floor—loud enough that Serenity heard it all the way on the roof. But it was over as quickly as it began.

The line was holding, but they were running out of ammo.

Two minutes, Serenity repeated to herself. They just had to hold on for two minutes.

Then they could move further inland.

~ ~ ~