COMING SOON: An Essence of Silver and Steel
Something grand loomed in the distance, a great infinitude that did not exist in any of Queen Administrator’s data. The red shadow connected to it on the opposite end, and as the red shadow did, it existed only because the indigenous population — humans, homo sapiens sapiens — did.
“GAH ‘OO!”
But his grip felt weak, fragile, and his flames were like a sunbeam on a clear summer day. The Lung before me was probably a mid-tier Brute already, capable of splattering my base Breaker state across the pavement like a rotten tomato, but as strong as he was, as formidable as other heroes might have found him, I was stronger still.
“Do you?”
Lung snarled and growled, and it was still something that could never have come from a human mouth, but it was nothing like his previous roars. Was he feeling cornered? I didn’t know. But the idea that I could so terrify one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, parahuman in the Bay gave me a kind of vindictive satisfaction that I’d been denied with the Trio for nearly two years.
“Are you afraid, Lung?”
“It wouldn’t even be an actual fight.”
“My condolences for Regent.”
She slung an arm over my shoulders, pulled me close, and even as I tensed up more, she planted a swift peck on the exposed part of my cheek.
I felt myself flush, and almost without realizing it, all of the tension drained straight out of me.
“Uh-bwah?”
“Consider that a down payment,” she said, grinning, “as a thank you for saving our butts, tonight.”
I was going to be a superhero. Things like indecision had to go.
COMING JUNE 3, 2017
AN ESSENCE OF SILVER AND STEEL
7 DAYS