Get your head in the game! he chastised himself. Flying forward, he saw that he was not going to make it to intercept and shield the manor. He shot Krackle, but the missiles left the slower energy balls in the dust. He followed as fast as he could fly, but he could not overtake the missiles.
Gus tried to activate Absorb and still, there was no effect at this range. He’d probably have to be in direct contact at his lower level of the skill, he thought with frustration. Hitting upon Electronic Mind in desperation, he activated it and understood the simple controls. The missiles were too close to deflect away from the manor at their current speed so he opted to have them detonate early.
Gus flew into the bright fireball, the brief heat momentarily uncomfortable. The bright flash was enough of a distraction and blinded him so that he crashed into the mountainside the manor was carved into. Pain blossomed across his head and he lost his focus, tumbling downward. After hitting an errant branch, he threw up a quick shield as he tumbled down to the ground.
“That sucked.” He popped pink, red, and blue gels, and his vision resolved immediately. The supers were closer than ever and he sent the shield flying upward again. Getting an idea, he activated Electronic Mind again and fired all the remaining missiles. Before they got too far away to command, he directed them to target the incoming supers.
The flying supers were not nearly as maneuverable while carrying their burdens, and one decided discretion was the better part of valor and let her two passengers go, flying away. One missile began to follow her, but as she got far enough away, it circled around to target one of the dropping supers. They both hit the water with a crash and the missile exploded as it hit the water.
The supers floated to the surface, and Gus could tell they were alive but unconscious by the change in their minimap status. He flew close and created two shields around them, partly so they wouldn’t drown. He didn’t want to lose the opportunity to harvest their powers either, if he was honest.
The other flyer managed to perform an aerial swing, twisting in a spiral and her passengers swung up and over, allowing the missiles to pass underneath. One of the supers she was carrying fired some sort of attack that clogged their propulsion systems before they could circle back around and they hit the water in the distance, making hollow *booms* after hitting the water and detonating.
As Gus flew to engage the other supers on jet-skies, he saw that Aurora had launched more drones. Keeping his distance from them, he engaged the last flyer as he quickly flew to the shore. With a large *crack,* blue fingers of electricity arced between three of the drones and two of the remaining jet-skies. Their riders spasmed and jolted as the drivers either let go of some throttle that kept the machines aloft or the electricity ruined something inside.
They both fell like rag dolls, still jittering as their muscles held their clenched fists to the handles, even after the electricity had dissipated. Gus was too far away to do anything to slow their fall and both hit the sandy beach at odd angles. Odd, unnatural angles for people who were still alive.
Gus felt ashamed that his first reaction was disappointment—that he probably had lost some potential powers—instead of feeling bad that two people had just died. He didn’t have long to think about them as he approached the flyer and his two passengers.
The mercs were close enough to the ground that they dropped to the sand. One executed a three-point landing and the other spun into a roll and sprang to his feet in a fighting pose. Gus looked at the floating super and a visceral dread overcame him as he gazed at the squid like creature in front of him. Is this a super or some kind of construct? Most likely a construct. Breaking from its gaze with an effort of will, Gus strained to refocus his attention on the two supers who had landed on the beach.
Hearing a repeating *pssh-pssh* noise behind him, Gus turned and saw Aurora running through the sand to meet these supers.
Aurora joined Gus and she faced off against the other super. They immediately engaged each other and Gus could barely follow their arms and legs as they kicked and blocked at blinding speed. The super Aurora fought wore only tightly fitting pants and some shoes with a split toe that resembled socks more than shoes.
He was covered in tattoos that blazed with color during various moves. A brilliant tiger, shimmering like goldfish scales, reflected in the sun as he made a slashing attack with a clawed fist. Aurora ducked to avoid it and kicked upwards. It connected with his chin with a resounding crack. He flew backward and landed on his back, but sprang back onto his feet as if he were on a trampoline.
The air snapped behind their rapid kicks and punches, punctuated with dull thuds and slapping noises as a hit connected or was blocked. Neither appeared to have the advantage, but Gus saw that Aurora truly had been taking it easy on him in their sparring sessions.
Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, he turned to face his opponent and saw the air ripple as the super extended both arms toward him. There was no time to dodge, having been too enthralled watching Aurora fight. Waves hit Gus, shimmering through his armor. He felt the wave directed around his sides and exit behind his back. Besides a tiny itch from the vibration, he suffered no ill effects.
Frustrated, the super placed his hands on the sand and sent out another
