“The hybrid-Nth say—”
“Hold on, I think I’m getting it.” Gus focused on the taste and he could see. In his mind, Gus could see himself touching other people, regs as well as supers and gifting them Nth with his ‘wasted’ upgrade. The transfer not only gave them Nth, but gave them abilities, turning regs into supers and strengthening others who already had powers. Gus saw himself building up his own force of supers of like-minded individuals and the manor populated with thousands of people, all working together for a common goal.
He saw himself addressing them all, leading them, which was a strange sight to his eyes. He had never thought of himself as a leader. The taste and the vision faded away simultaneously, their message delivered.
“I could get used to that,” Gus said.
“What happened?” Aurora asked.
“Here, let me show you. You know how you always wanted a crafting ability? Which one exactly did you want the most?”
“Um, I’ve always liked seeing how things work, but I end up breaking the things I take apart rather than fixing them.”
Gus closed his eyes and focused on the requirements. Like a magic 8-ball, an ability surfaced, floating in the void. He combined this with some free Nth and opened his eyes. Reaching out, he traced a line on Aurora’s cheekbone, following the contours and leaving a silver streak on her smooth skin. She reached up to touch it as it began to soak in.
“Oh!” she said as she saw a display and slid the message over so Gus could read it:
You have been gifted the ability Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: Instinctive ability to create, repair, and improve inventions relating to clothing, battle, and espionage.
“I can create my own group of supers, hopefully one that can actually do some real good in the world. I even have my own lair already!” he said, gesturing to the manor.
Aurora just smiled, still amazed, and began to plan how she would use her new ability.
“But first, I’m starving. Let’s head to the cafeteria and eat something and restock our gels.” Gus sighed and rubbed his empty stomach. When was the last time he had eaten a good meal? It felt like forever. Aurora shrugged and did a mock bow indicating ‘after you.’ Gus strode forward and she just shook her head.
“Men and their stomachs,” she muttered.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Comeback
Gus and Aurora stepped out of the manor, needing the feeling of space and fresh air after they finished cleaning up everything. After hauling the supers to the brig, resetting Gus’ access in the control room, and eating a well-deserved meal, the world was back in order. He took in a deep breath, enjoying the change from the stuffy chamber on level twenty-three. Warm sunlight played across Gus’ features as he closed his eyes and basked in the afternoon sun. A shadow covered his face, interrupting his respite.
“Hey, cut it out, I’m trying to relax,” Gus laughed, expecting Aurora to be messing with him.
“Who are you?” she warned from beside him.
Snapping his eyes open, Gus saw a large mecha floating silently in midair in front of him, making his already seven-foot frame even more imposing.
“I am Voltekka. Ah. There it is,” the robot intoned, and without saying more, the super flung out a hand with fingers splayed.
Gus felt a wrenching throughout his body, then the imploding pressure increased, causing Gus to collapse. The gunmetal hybrid-Nth that made his armor began to pull away from him. His solid armor began to dissolve into grain-like particles as the mecha activated some ability, pulling them towards his outstretched hand somehow. The individual hybrid-Nth were pulled as grains of sand caught in a powerful vacuum, revealing Gus’ plain jumpsuit beneath.
Gus would have protested but was in immense pain from the same process happening to hybrid-Nth inside his body as well, driving him to his knees. Blood welled up as Nth were pulled out like tiny bullets, perforating everything in their path.
As the miniature swarm of Nth touched the mecha, he cocked his head.
Through tears of agony, Gus lifted his head and saw that the ripped swarm was flooding back towards him, resisting the effect. Bit by bit, his armor reformed, and as it did, the pull on his internal hybrid-Nth lessened significantly, though he felt as if his insides had been thoroughly torn up.
“Interesting,” the large mecha responded. “This is… curious.”
Voltekka processed the reality he’d just seen at play. He knew that he needed more of this Endurium, but he had never experienced this before. The metal had refused to meld with him and had chosen to return to its original host. The rumors of semi-sentience must be true! This one had somehow earned the Endurium’s favor, and as such, must be monitored. So strange for one who had not ascended. Nodding in respect, he addressed the entity known simply as Gus.
“We share goals. You are… notable. An anomaly.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Gus rasped, coughing up a little blood. “But what goals could we possibly share?” Gus blurted, not expecting an answer as he shakily got back to his feet, defiance in his eyes.
“Absorption. Reappropriation. Equality,” Voltekka responded, as if this explained everything. He pointed at Gus. “They told me.”
With another nod, Voltekka took off towards space, heading for the station to continue his plans, utilizing the small triangular bit of Endurium he had procured. He had big plans that had waited far too long to implement. There were other sources, and they would be acquired.
Gus and Aurora watched the robot leave, white contrail evaporating and slowly floating away.
“What in the hell was that!?” Aurora shrieked when the shock of the moment wore off.
Gus only shrugged, staring upwards. When the robot was out of sight, Gus dropped to the ground. He managed to burble out, “Gels,” from bloody lips.
Snapping to herself, she fished out a gel and popped it in Gus’ mouth. He didn’t know how he had been able to hold it together with his Nth practically yanked out of his
