Built Different [Cyborg Superhero ProgFant]

Rather stone-faced after our battle, Belle made it about twenty seconds back at home base before passing out. Her eyes had returned to normal, and she hadn't said a word since letting me go.

"What happened?" Roy asked, the bedraggled speedster now seated once more. "How did she win?"

I glanced over at Roxy, and she was inspecting where she had been shot. Unsurprisingly, the bullet wounds had all but vanished. There was some light marring on her skin in places, but nothing that had drawn blood.

"Fuck," she murmured to herself, before looking at Roy and I. "It's like your Nerve bullshit, right? Felt different, though. Even more real."

[That is my assumption, although it is more of an illusion. A suggestion put into your mind that you go along with.]

She screwed up her face. "That's why my punch did nothing, huh? It wasn't just believing I'd been damaged; she had convinced me that I had no strength."

[A remarkable feat, no?]

The speedster wasn't fully on board. "But what about you, Dubs? You just stopped in front of her, did nothing, and then gave up."

[She won. What can I tell you? How about you, Clara? What can you tell us?]

While the techie had otherwise been avoiding our conversation, my fishing line drew her glare our way. "What? Just because I'm the technical expert, I'm supposed to know everything going on with you all, even things magical or outside my tangible purview?"

Without the energy to fully respond to that, I just shrugged.

She sighed and turned her laptop around. From what I could tell, the display showed a bar chart with several data points. Clara pointed to the one on the far left—the shortest bar.

"This is Belle's usual output when in combat, utilizing her patron's power. A three-point-five on this arbitrary tracking system. Heavy shielding will go to five-point-two. In the duel that just passed…" She ran her finger over several longer bars. "Eight-point-one against Rockslide, and against Gunquake… eleven."

[That explains why she passed out, then.]

I wasn't even aware she was able to draw on extra power in that way. Although the memory of the solitary chair in the small room was fading fast like a bad dream, I still remembered the distinct presence of another entity. Her patron, perhaps?

"It appears we are all pushing beyond our limits today, Gunquake." Clara gestured over to the elf before turning her laptop back around.

I looked over at Ren. While it wasn't uncommon to see her with a scowl, she was practically fuming right now. She shook blood from her hand as she drew up another arrow. Still trying to match Silhouette's casual flex of hitting the bullseye on the Meteor from three miles away.

"Given the distance and necessary willpower to maintain the artifact's strength, she has gotten remarkably close," Clara added. "Yet, so far."

The elf muttered under her breath and lowered her bow slightly. She was within earshot, even without her improved hearing. "The rangefinder helps, but even with the zoom it is difficult to focus both on the target and the arrow."

I nodded politely and imagined it must be like threading a needle where the string was on the end of a held pole.

Clara closed her laptop down. "If you are done struggling, there are other magnification options on the tech."

Ren turned her scowl to face the techie. "You could have mentioned that before."

"Do you not feel as though you have learned more through failure?" Clara gestured to the side of her eye. "There's a button for changing the mode. Two, Four, and Ten times zoom."

[You were almost hitting a three-mile target at only two-times zoom?]

"Almost was being generous." Ren pushed the button on the rangefinder twice. After looking back out at the wasteland, she sighed. "Hells. Feels like I could just reach out and touch it now."

[But can you hit it?]

"Over two miles, it is difficult to control the arrow, along with keeping it powered."

Clara hopped off her chair. "Perhaps you are more open to trying additional technological supplements now? I have been keeping something under wraps as it had some… issues that are now addressed."

Ren turned to the techie with a renewed glare, this time with the magnified eye closed. "I will hear you out."

"An archery glove that happens to have a small fragment of an arcane crystal within. Only enough power for one shot every hour or so, but I believe the magical energy will be able to boost your artifact briefly."

The elf didn't seem too convinced, but reluctantly agreed. I took a seat beside the exhausted super and gave her a pat on the leg.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

[Not bad for one day, hmm?]

"Hopefully they won't be all this tiring," she said with a long sigh. She placed a warm hand on top of mine. "It's been a long one, but very productive. The only thing that irritates the back of my mind is how exposed we are. All exhausted without our usual safety measures."

[True. You realize that Silhouette coming here wasn't just a social call, however?]

She raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

I gestured to the cloaking device he had left before the sparring match.

[That is solar powered, so doesn't actually have the time limitation he first mentioned. If we are being watched by the city, Silhouette is one of the interested parties. I trust he would warn us of any detected threat, if not something he eliminates himself.]

Roy, who had been listening in with his eyes half closed, turned his head to us. "That's some brotherly love, huh? Comes to show off in front of us, and make us look bad, but behind the scenes he won't let anyone hurt you."

[I wouldn't be that generous, but I'm willing to bet he has a vested interest in making sure we are safe.]

The super drummed her fingers on top of my hand. "Because of the shakeup within the League, right? If he isn't beholden to certain Directors that didn't like us, or he sees the writing on the wall now that Kingston has a majority share of power…"

All I could give was a shrug at first, but I nodded. That was a reasonable assumption. I tried not to pry into my brother's work history. Whichever Director he had previously been under might have lost sway, and he was more of a free agent in the League. For as free as you could really be as a superhero here.

We watched in silence as Clara stepped away from Ren, revealing that the elf was now wearing the glove. It was relatively simple in design, mostly black with a few raised areas in dark gray. Any evidence that it held part of an arcane crystal had been hidden from prying eyes. Even with Kingston in charge and on our side, there were still cards we had to keep close to our chests.

Ren shook her arm out and took a deep breath. After raising her bow into position, a magical arrow bloomed into her right hand. A flash of green light came from the glove - albeit only briefly. She held her breath and moved her aim ever so slightly.

Then she released, and all eyes went to the projectile as it flew out over the outskirts. After several seconds, it was no longer visible to those of us without augmented vision.

I turned my eyes to Clara, who was looking off to the side. After several tense seconds, she nodded and turned to us.

"It hit the Meteor, but not the target."

Ren deflated. "Fuck. You said the glove has a cooldown as well?"

"The glove is a crutch," the techie said dismissively. "Mostly to improve your morale every so often. Once you hit the target using it, you will remain unsatisfied until you can do it without. Then, you will tire of the ten-times zoom. I'm sure you understand where I am going with this."

After several moments of silence, Ren gave a stoic nod. With all the anger and disappointment gone from her expression, she was now more resolute. It wasn't exactly a pep talk, but a way for our ranged expert to progress in a way that she understood. I knew it wouldn't end once she could hit a static target at three miles out, either.

[I'd say we've all spent what energy we can on training today. You all have exceeded my expectations.]

My praise was met with a round of grumbles and tired mutterings. It was amusing to imagine that some of our early fights hadn't even exhausted us to this extent. The self-inflicted push for personal growth was necessary, however. Inevitable.

Belle groaned and pushed herself upright. "Someone pass me my bottle?"

After giving my hand a squeeze, Roxy stood from her chair to address the troops. "I think it's closing time. As much as it is a joy to have you around, we have another long day tomorrow, and you assholes need some rest."

Another group-wide murmur of reluctant acceptance came our way. They got the hint, however.

Ren assured us she was capable of flying her helicopter even with her depleted energy. Roy and Belle were a lot worse for wear, so she'd take them both back to Goldarch. After some complaining, they helped pack away Clara's crates, and were on their way.

I watched the helicopter move off in the distance before entering the prefab unit and closing the door. Roxy was already deflated on the couch, in severe need of another shower and a long sleep. Clara was the only one of us who hadn't physically worn themselves down but had been glued to either her laptop or STAR screen constantly throughout the day.

[Don't overwork yourself.]

She turned from her computer to roll her eyes at me. "You do realize who you are saying that to, Gunquake?"

[And you realize who is giving you that command.]

Her eyes narrowed, but she gave me a brief nod. Not that I was really pulling rank on her, but it was hopefully a reminder that my life was often in her hands. She couldn't be everywhere at once.

"Make me some food, Dubs," Roxy whined, pouting as she lay on the couch. "It actually aches when I stand for too long."

[Certainly. What would you like?]

"Surprise me."

I went over to the kitchen area of the prefab. Terribly basic compared to what we used to have at home, but functional. It had been a while since I had cooked a proper meal, and the prospect filled me with a small burst of energy.

[Tell me about your new powers.]

"The fact that I can control lava?" She spent a second gathering her thoughts. "I don't really understand it, if I'm honest. Creating lava, sure. That's simple shit. But making it move and turning it to stone almost at will… it kinda scared me at first."

[It must be closer to the full extent of your actual superpower.]

"Maybe. How cool is it, though?"

She had certainly been inventive with it. Utilized walls for defense and attack. Pressurized lava within the created structures to act like mini-volcano cannons. Now she was even more of a volcano super than just a strength hero with lava abilities.

[I think in a day or two it'll be twice as cool.]

Roxy didn't reply, and when I glanced over, she had fallen asleep. A content smile on her face. Clara caught where I was looking and looked back at the exhausted super.

"Well earned, I'd say. Do you want to know the itinerary for tomorrow, Gunquake?"

[Was the calendar updated again? We have to be present for the Outskirt Teams reveal, and then I assume we're beating new powers out of each other out here again.]

"Close." The techie turned back to her computer and continued typing away. "Correct on having to go into the city for a brief PR run. Thankfully, Kingston is merging it with the official statement on the Arena attack… so we have more time to focus on our 'vacation'."

[So something else has been arranged for the afternoon?]

"I have taken the liberty of securing a certain location, Gunquake." Despite not looking in my direction, I could clearly see the mischevious grin on her face. "Tomorrow, you're all going to fight each other, within the confines of an abandoned office block."

[Is there a prize for the winner?]

"Naturally," she said. "It will be something worth fighting for."

I turned my eyes back to the sleeping super, and the chamber on my gun-arm opened slowly.

Maybe I could get an early head-start.