“I have an ability called Leech that I just got for defeating Methiochos. I can steal abilities from an enemy’s Nth.”
“I remember you briefly mentioned it before, but how does it work? I’ve never heard of someone getting an ability from someone they’ve defeated before. Could be very powerful.”
“Well, after I touch a super, I can see their skills. I can take or copy some but the exact amount depends on how high their levels are and I think my own stats and level limit how much of that ability gets transferred. There’s a yellow bar on the bottom of my display that shows how full my buffer is for the abilities I take.”
“You can copy my abilities? Here try.” She reached out a hand and Gus took it, activating the skill. Among the abilities, he found Ion Storm and selected it. The yellow bar filled a little past half-way on the bottom.
You have chosen to leech Ion Storm (Level 12).
You have chosen to copy and erase skills, are you sure? (Y/N?)
Gus saw where he could toggle some of the presets. He carefully made some adjustments.
You have chosen to leech Ion Storm (Level 12).
You have chosen to only copy skill, are you sure? (Y/N?)
The bar was now red and extended off the end of the display.
“Hmm, that’s weird. It fills the buffer much more to only copy than to steal an ability.”
Gus carefully selected no and closed out the ability. Gus breathed a quiet sigh of relief that he hadn’t tried to merely copy abilities when fighting with the other supers. They would have surely gotten the upper hand in the time it took to figure that out and recalibrate.
“So, there’s a limit to how much you can take at one time. How much time does it take to activate?”
“Once I trigger it, it takes a couple seconds to take the skill, but thankfully they get stunned while it happens, like they’re being tased.”
“I saw that. Can you touch them more than once if they have a lot of abilities?”
“I… don’t know. Maybe. Definitely something I should try; that’s a good idea. So far, all I know is that I need to get in close and touch them without being interrupted.” Gus looked at Aurora, worried she might think less of him. He saw the placid face of a tactician who knew what it took to win battles. He continued on when she offered no objections.
“Any cooldown?”
“There’s none listed. Plus it stuns them afterward, so I can get them to the brig.”
“I can help with that. If you give me prison access rights, I could help stow away some of the unconscious supers. Or ex-supers. Whatever.”
“Okay, great. Did I mention the brig has a field that turns off your powers?”
“Whoa, like a SuperMax?”
“I guess, I didn’t know that was part of those prisons.”
“Kind of has to be when you’re dealing with supers. It takes a ton of energy though. Plus the technology is regulated by supers, so no regs get their hands on it and use it as a weapon. Can you imagine?”
Gus shook his head as he stared ahead. He’d never even considered that a super could lose their powers, temporarily or otherwise, before his experiences on the island. The image was always one of immutable power. He just assumed it was true. Seeing Aurora look at him expectantly he continued talking. “I’ll admit, part of me has a problem with erasing the powers. The other part says that this is war and I need to do what has to be done.”
“I agree with the Purple Faction tenet that ‘might makes right.’ Sometimes you have to make hard choices, and if that’s not popular with some people, so be it. Life beat me down until Purple Faction helped me become stronger and overcome. So yeah, I think you should take and erase those abilities. I’m not sure if that’s what you were asking, but don’t give people an opportunity to screw you. Especially if they’ve already shown you their true colors.”
“That’s what I was thinking, thanks,” Gus said, more secure in his decision now that two people had affirmed it. “Here we are,” he said as the elevator doors opened.
Chapter Fifteen
Threshold
As they walked into the control center, Gus gave her a little tour and showed her how to use the cameras. She checked some of the monitors and a panel that showed the status of the entire island on a holographic projection in the center of the room. She walked around it, nodding in appreciation. They found seats and got to planning their defenses. Gus smiled to himself, grateful to have Aurora’s experience on board to help resist the upcoming siege.
Gus checked what it would take to add Aurora as someone the manor would recognize. It was essentially as simple as ‘employing’ her and giving her a position.
“You were a lieutenant on the ship, how would you like to be the manor’s first lieutenant?”
“Suits me just fine. What is your official title?”
“Master of the manor, I think.” He flushed a little and scratched the back of his head. “It’s really been a non-issue with only me here.” He turned his attention to the console to enter the information.
New employee added to the registry. Employee sync complete. Leadership role has been assigned. Legacy FP added for Master of Manor to utilize. New employee level: 54. Added 47,000 Legacy FP.
Gus whooped and told Aurora the good news. So that was how Methiochos had planned on getting the manor outfitted and upgraded to a decent lair.
“Why don’t we find you a place to stay, and I’ll show you where the dispensary is located so you can see if there’s anything you’d rather wear.” Gus tried not to notice as Aurora looked down at the baggy jumpsuit she had picked up at Manticorps and seeing the dirty smears and smudges all over her face, reflected in the glass of the monitor.
He authorized Aurora to access FP and facilities upgrades and
