Mod Superhero (Book 4 STUB on JULY 30th)

Chapter 4.51 - Maximillian 4

Two minutes was a long time to wait when the world was going to shit around them. And a long time to wait while watching two of your best friends getting swarmed by an army of crazed fish-men, psychotic mages, and a monstrosity the size of a city block.

The military helicopters had just crested the horizon when the explosion happened.

McGuire recognized it immediately, even as he and the rest of the group ducked for cover. Clara's fusion power and the cells made from it had a distinct eeriness to the glow. That was the only way McGuire could think to describe it. It looked like the lingering cloud of a bomb blast, but mixed with molten steel or lava—the explosion looked solid in a way that shouldn't be possible.

Mod must've used a half-drained cell for this bomb though, because it only took out the parking garage and half of the surrounding buildings. If it was a full cell or his internal battery, McGuire and the others would probably be dead.

McGuire shivered at the thought. It was a small comfort that they wouldn't have time to realize something had gone wrong before they were all dead.

...Actually, that wasn't a comforting thought at all.

Cherry and Krystal were already back up. They worked with Larian, Tuke, Indovu, and the shadow tree to fend off the last fish-men soldiers. But McGuire felt far away.

He couldn't stop staring at the explosion, even as the outline faded and smoke rose from the block. And he couldn't stop staring at the fish-men converging on his friends. Mod and Arsenal looked tiny compared to the swarm of enemies.

His friends would be alright. Wouldn't they?

Serenity's voice came from the shadow tree's canopy. "The military's coming to the roof to evacuate. The pilots were about to turn around..."

Cherry shouted, "They better not!"

Serenity added, "It took some convincing from their superiors, but they're coming."

Even as the swarm faded, it was a tense minute before the first helicopter set down on the roof. Military soldiers—mostly Army and Navy, from the looks of it—were filing onto the roof and taking defensive positions. The shadow tree's canopy shrank to make room.

The first helicopter landed, its rotors blasting salt spray and blue blood to the edges of the roof. The sound of the rotors was deafening. So McGuire and the others peered cautiously over the edge of the roof to keep an eye out for danger. With Serenity's soft link between everyone, it should've made it impossible for anything to sneak up on them.

In moments, the first half of soldiers loaded into the helicopter and took off.

The second helicopter took its place and the rest of the soldiers filed in. That was when the attack came.

Serenity shouted a warning into everyone's mind—an image of spider-limbed shock troopers climbing up the wall of the building. The regular fish-men had all turned to follow Mod and Arsenal. Now it seemed like all the shock troopers were taking their place.

With their weak psychic link, McGuire could feel Serenity sending out waves of psychic energy. They washed over the building, pushing back against the Deep Ones. To McGuire and the others, the pulses felt like a warm breeze, but to the fish-men it would feel like moving through syrup.

At least, that's how it would've felt to the fish-men soldiers.

McGuire could feel Serenity's distress at the shock troopers. They were pushing back against her psychic powers, even without a mage nearby to help them.

Krystal used her powers and ice spikes erupted around the building. The first engagement with the Deep Ones, regular fish-men impaled themselves on the spikes as they climbed. But the shock troopers were so long-limbed that they climbed over them easily.

But their enemies didn't make it out completely unscathed. The group was already hurling attacks over the edge of the roof. McGuire grabbed a handful of his regular mass-changing marbles and fired at the closest fish-man. He was glad he used a handful because the creature was so thin he might've missed otherwise. Two marbles hit the creature's shoulder, causing it to lose its grip and nearly fall. Another marble hit its mouth, shattering several of its needle-thin teeth. It spat out chunks of teeth and the marble, chittered maniacally, and continued climbing.

McGuire patted his vest, searching for his newest invention. "Shit. Shit. Where did I put it?"

Machinegun fire erupted from the second helicopter as it lifted into the air. McGuire looked up just in time to see the first shock trooper take several shots and staggered forward toward Larian.

Larian backed away toward his shadow tree. The fish-man lunged. Larian phased through the trunk of the tree, leaving the fish-man to slam into the trunk. The tree grasped it with its roots and trampled it.

A second shock trooper crested the roof and skittered toward Krystal. She recoiled, conjuring more spikes from the roof, but the fish-man avoided them all. Indovu pounced on the creature's back and bit its neck, causing the creature to howl in pain. Krystal was able to impale it through the leg and torso, holding it while Cherry finished it off.

At the same time, Serenity shouted, "They're on the floor below us!"

A gnarled hand burst through the roof. Long claws slashed erratically through the air.

Krystal was too close and had her back turned. McGuire didn't think, he just tackled her. They tumbled over each.

Claws gouged the roof where Krystal had been a moment ago.

McGuire smiled awkwardly from on top of her.

She looked up at McGuire and smiled back. Her chest was heaving from exertion. McGuire had no idea what limitations she had with her powers, but conjuring that much ice was clearly pushing her to her limits.

"Thanks. ...Now get off of me."

"Right. Right!" McGuire stood quickly and gave a hand to pull her up.

McGuire and Krystal turned. The shock trooper punched another arm through the roof and was trying to pull itself through. At the same time, two more climbed onto the roof—one of which had broken teeth.

Krystal strained to use her powers again. She managed to catch the one shock trooper as it climbed through. The fish-man was stuck half-way.

Cherry spun around and shot at all of their enemies. She fired blasts with both hands, like a Wild West gunslinger, bursting one creature's face and stunning the two others.

Then the broken-toothed fish-man shook off the stun, climbed over its half-stuck brethren, and reached an impossibly long limb toward McGuire.

Indovu snarled at it, and both the jaguar and Cherry kept it at bay a moment longer.

McGuire patted his fifth vest pocket and finally found what he was looking for. He pulled out a modified slice-n-dice bolas and loaded his slingshot. Then he turned toward the broken-toothed fish-man.

"Eat this!" McGuire shouted.

Larian willed Indovu to move out of the way, and McGuire released the slingshot. The bolas flared open—two strands of razor-thin, magically sharp wire crudely knotted together. Minirockets on all four ends of the string activated, turning the bolas into a magnificent windmill of death.

The bolas chewed through the broken-toothed fish-man, the spinning wire cutting the creature into spaghetti. The bolas sailed through the first shock trooper and through the one half stuck in the roof. It flew across the alleyway and tore chunks out of the next building too.

As the chunks of fish-men slumped to the roof, silence fell over the group. The rest of them stared at McGuire in disbelief.

Larian asked, "What in the world was that?"

McGuire smirked. "New weapon."

Krystal asked, "Why didn't you lead with that?"

"I forgot what pocket I put it in."

Cherry and Serenity just shook their heads.

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