Chapter Two Hundred and Forty-One: It's a Trap! (Patreon)

It’s said that people who are about to die have their thoughts speed up. That’s the origin of the whole ‘life flashing before your eyes’ thing.

Right then, my thoughts were racing at a thousand miles per hour.

Lumina had not just been tricked into her conspiracy - she was a true believer. A zealot.

And the rest of them - Soundwave, Viking, Quintana - they believed too.

Their belief wasn’t a surprise - but how had they convinced Dyzer?

More to the point…

Dyzer had me suspended in a stasis field. And that meant he was a much more powerful inventor than I’d estimated.

Than anyone had estimated. A stasis field was something the best inventors in the world couldn’t pull off easily.

And yet…

It wasn’t a perfect stasis field. If it had been, even my body would have been under stasis, unable to move, breathe, think, or experience the passage of time.

This was much worse. It was a selective stasis field.

A field that trapped my armour, encasing me in a metal coffin,  but left me able to think, speak and move.

Which meant … he’d achieved something even more complicated than the best inventors in the world.

The name of the effect hung in my interface. CONDITION: FULLERSTEEL STASIS.

My armour was mostly fullersteel, so the stasis effect froze it - but the parts that supported my breathing and air circulation weren’t impacted, or I’d have suffocated by now.

In theory, you could create a stasis field for a single material. To do that, however, you needed a deep understanding of the molecular structure of the material - a level of understanding that even I couldn’t claim.

And the composition and manufacturing process for fullersteel was classified at the highest levels, with less than a dozen people in BAE having authorization to know how it was made - much less to get samples of the stuff.

So how did Dyzer create a stasis field for it? How could he possibly understand the material better than me, when I’d invented the stuff?

Even as Lumina marched towards me, my thoughts were in overdrive. Analyzing. Trying to figure out how to beat the ambush.

Lumina wanted to unmask me. To do that, she’d have to take my helmet off. And given that the Boar Class Helmet has a strap under the chin….

If she yanked it with her full strength - rated at 200 last I checked - there was a decent chance she could pull it off. And my head with it.

It would be a messy reveal. But I’d be dead. Very certainly, stone-cold, dead.

And any apologies from the Tanisport ultras afterwards weren’t going to help.

I wondered who Guduma-Daukar was, and whether I’d actually copied his hammer. Or maybe… maybe that had been my name in the past?

Unfortunately, that didn’t explain Dyzer’s selective stasis field. An inventor with no samples of fullersteel couldn’t possibly have a better understanding of it than the man who invented fullersteel….

… except that I hadn’t invented it.

The recipe for Fullersteel had been unlocked after I’d used Chemical Analysis on the broken pieces of Grunter armour left behind by the thugs who’d tried to shake down Dixit Constructions.

And with that, the pieces fell into place.

Number Ten on the leaderboards, one of the world’s top supervillain inventors, the only man who’d ever built battlesuits in large batches - at least until I came along…

And as I stared at the battlesuit holding me hostage, Observe filled in the blanks that were hidden before.

TEST OF INTELLIGENCE PASSED.

OBSERVED INFORMATION EXPANDED.

DYZER A.K.A. GRUMMAN

LEVEL 30

CLASS: INVENTOR

FACTION: GRUNTERS

TITLE: FACTION LEADER

TITLE: SOLE SURVIVOR

HP: 150/150 + ARMOUR: 5000/5000

EFFECTIVE HP: 5150/5150

EQUIPMENT:

OVERLORD CLASS BATTLESUIT

MASER ASSAULT CANNON: +6000 DAMAGE/HIT, 4 SHOTS/MINUTE

FULLERSTEEL STASIS BEAM

OVERLORD POWERAXE: +300 DAMAGE / HIT

Gravitic’s suit had been a thousand points of armour. Grumman had kept the best - and toughest - suit for himself.

Two years ago, that would have torn me apart in a heartbeat.

On the other hand, against the Wolf Armour? I would have taken him apart in minutes.

I recalled, distantly, the reaction ‘Dyzer’ had on seeing the Wolf. Surprise. That must have left him … concerned.

No wonder he’d suggested the Boar Armour. The smallest armour I had, but one with fullersteel.

Nanofibre weave would have been unaffected.

And now…

Now, I was in the jaws of a trap. One that could very well kill me.

I should be afraid.

But…

Five days ago, I’d faced the Walking Fortress and survived.

Compared to that, Grumman was an insect. A very large, very poisonous insect that had me paralyzed, but…

I just couldn’t find the fear anywhere.

Anger was crowding it out.

I realized that Lumina had finished her speech. If Grumman was an insect, then she was less than an ant. A microbe, maybe.

Even with her strength, the greatest threat she posed to me was yanking off my helmet.

And now this microbe was standing in front of me. Glaring.

“Well? Do you understand, mercenary?”

Somehow, I found my voice. “I am no mercenary.”

“Oh,” Lumina’s voice dripped with scorn. “Very well then. Soldier. Is that what I should call you? Soldier? Or do you have a conscience somewhere in there?”

Her tone was mocking. Derisive.

“Did you take oaths, I wonder? Do you remember them, or have those who indoctrinated you wiped that memory clean? You serve the deep state, the actors who would twist our nation into a broken mirror of their fascist dream-state. And yet you remain anonymous, hidden by that mask. If I rip it off, will I find a man? Or a soulless puppet, dancing to the tune of your masters?”

Her words were… wrong.

So wrong.

I’d come here today hoping to talk my way out of further conflict. Now, as I stared at the raving lunatic in front of me…

The time for negotiations was past.

It was time for alternatives.

“Well, soldier?” Lumina asked. “Will you hide behind the walls of secrecy, betraying the country you claim to serve? Or will you find a conscience and speak? Tell the world of the conspiracy you’ve been roped into?”

“My name,” I growled, “is not soldier.”

And with that, I activated Reverse Engineering.

After making a thousand suits of it, I know the Boar Armour like the back of my hand. Know it well enough that Reverse Engineering teaches me nothing.

Well enough that even when the armour is trapped in a stasis field, my knowledge of it allows Reverse Engineering to cannibalize it completely.

With a crackle of lightning, the Boar Armour vanished. Dismantled into nothingness, the knowledge of its recipes flowing into my brain and finding nothing new there to add.

I dropped to my knees.

The stasis field had held the fullersteel within the armour in place. Without it, I was free to move.

Yes, I was kneeling in front of five ultrahumans - all veteran warriors - in my undershirt and boxers. Nearly naked - enough that the ‘Noble Savage’ title activated.

But I was not afraid. Anger crowds out fear.

I tried to create a portal.

JAMMING FIELD DISRUPTS TELEPORTATION.

No matter, we’d have to do this the hard way.

Lumina’s face was a study in expressions. Shock. Bewilderment. And - disappointment? Maybe she was looking forward to pulling my mask off.

Too bad I beat her to the reveal.

“My name is Andrew Drake. Son of Paul Drake. Brother to Anne. Student to Mr. Fickle, who died fighting the aliens. Graduate of Everard. Citizen of Tanisport. And not soldier.”

Lumina stepped back, seemingly involuntarily, as I rose to my feet. “You’re… That’s not possible. Belessar is a puppet of the deep state!”

“The only puppet here, Lumina, is you. You ambushed me - because I gained a few inches in height. Really, that’s all it took?” I shook my head sadly. “You should have chosen your advisors - and your allies - better.” A disappointed look at the battlesuit towering over us.

“Belessar,” Viking said. “You are in our custody. I ask that you not make this any more difficult than it has to be. Speak up about your part in the conspiracy, and you may have the opportunity to regain your honour.”

I turned my gaze to Viking. “What conspiracy?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? Perhaps we were wrong about your identity - and it shows courage on your part to unmask like this. But you have been chopping away at the independence of ultras, bringing them in line with the mandates of the military - and for what? A shiny piece of metal? Show true courage, speak up about the need to separate the military from the ultras. To uphold the Codices.”

“You know what,” I mused. “I did believe in the CJM. And ultra independence from the military, and volunteer service, and much else. But then… you told me you believe in these things. And that is enough to change my mind. Right now, I’d like nothing better than to tear the Codices up and set them on fire - because the four of you support them.”

“Four? There are five of us.”

I smiled, pointing at Dyzer. “So you count that one in your number?”

“Of course. Dyzer has been an ally of ours for months.”

“Thank you for the confirmation, Viking. It takes a lot to admit that you have made an ally,” I glanced to see the cameras were still rolling, “of Grumman.”

It took a moment for the words to register.

The widening of his eyes gave Viking away. Then, as expected, he swivelled his head to look at Dyzer/Grumman.

So did Lumina. And, I guess, Soundwave.

That was the moment I moved.

I slammed into Viking with the force of a full-power Bodycharge.

VIKING -141 HP!

VIKING 759/900.

CONDITION INFLICTED: STUNNED.

TIME REMAINING: 00:05 SECONDS.

The force of impact hurled the ultra backwards. Not enough to cripple him.

Enough to buy me time.

Even as Lumina pirouetted to face me, I was moving again. This time, my target was the other man in armour.

SOUNDWAVE

LEVEL 20

HP: 800/800

EQUIPMENT: BAFFLE ARMOUR

SONIC RIFLE: 150 DAMAGE/HIT

Soundwave had moved away from the camera and drawn his rifle. He fired.

Dodge Bullets easily moved me out of the way.

The inventor barely had the time to realize my actions before my feet slammed into him.

DEADLY BLOW!

UNARMOURED KICK DEALS 322 DAMAGE!

SOUNDWAVE 478/800 HP!

A kick deals 1.5 times my strength in damage; with the fivefold multiplier from Deadly Blow, a single strike was enough to shatter nearly forty percent of his armour plates.

Of course, I wouldn’t stop at a single strike.

DEADLY BLOW! UNARMOURED PUNCH DEALS 215 DAMAGE!

DEADLY BLOW! UNARMOURED PUNCH DEALS 215 DAMAGE!

Soundwave’s armour splintered with the second punch.

Shards flew everywhere. Some even cut me.

I had time to register Soundwave’s face - a thin, reedy man with red hair - before my third punch slammed into it.

DEADLY BLOW! UNARMOURED PUNCH DEALS 215 DAMAGE!

SOUNDWAVE DEFEATED! +2000 XP!

The force of the blow shattered Soundwave’s skull. Blood and brain matter erupted, spilling on the ground. Splatters hit the camera.

A roar of outrage. “SOUNDWAVE!”

Light erupted from Lumina’s eyes. A light which had a physical force behind it.

LUMINOUS EYEBEAM: 30 DAMAGE PER SECOND, KNOCKBACK

Lumina’s eyebeam slammed into me, burning my skin and pushing me backwards.

I activated Healing Aura and Anchor.

My feet fastened to the ground as a golden halo erupted around me. At Level 12, Healing Aura washes away 50 points of damage per second for the low, low price of 50 MP per second - way below my MP regen of 561 per second.

Enough to overcome the Luminous Eyebeam’s pathetic damage level - which, come to think of it, was the equivalent of being hit by a bullet every second.

“I can do this all day,” I quipped, standing still before the force of the beam.

Beside Lumina, Viking stumbled forward, eyes red. “Murderer,” he growled. “Murderer…”

Lumina shut off the beam, stunned. “You killed him. He was a hero. And you killed him!”

“I find your definition of ‘hero’ lacking,” I drawled. “The last time people ambushed me, it was Ultragorilla, Serpentor and Tigerstrike. I’d be disappointed that you chose to copy their tactics… but then again, you are allied with Grumman.” I cocked my head in the direction of the battlesuit.

Which chose the moment to speak up. “Belessar. It is disappointing that you should choose such a foolish path. You have no armour, and I have you in my sights. Soon, you will run out of whatever disposable effects you have on your person - at which point you will die. Surrender peacefully. An inventor cannot hope to fight two Herculeans without his technology.”

“Fortunately, I am not an inventor.”

And I unleashed Chain Lightning.

500 MP drained from my pool, and arcs of lightning shot outwards from my hands, slamming into the three ultrahumans in front of me.

LADY LUMINA -180 HP!

VIKING -180 HP!

GRUMMAN -180 HP!

The Maser Assault Cannon fired. The wave of energy had almost a physical presence as it passed through the air.

I felt it from inches away. Dodge Bullets gets you out of the way, by just enough to keep you unharmed - which doesn’t do much for your presence of mind as a beam that could scramble your very organs passes close by.

The Cannon whirled and beeped, waiting for its recharge cycle.

Observe.

LADY LUMINA

LEVEL 20

CLASS: HERCULEAN

HP: 1020/1200

STR: 200

SKILLS: COMBAT PUNCH: 200 DAMAGE

LUMINOUS EYEBEAM: 30 DAMAGE PER SECOND, KNOCKBACK

AURA OF LIGHT: ILLUMINATES THE SURROUNDINGS WHEN IN DARKNESS

VIKING

LEVEL 20

CLASS: HERCULEAN

HP: 579/900

SKILLS:

COMBAT PUNCH: 150 DAMAGE

BERSERK: BOOSTS PHYSICAL DAMAGE DELIVERED 3X, PHYSICAL DAMAGE TAKEN 3X

CHARGING - VIKING WILL GO BERSERK IN 00:06 SECONDS

Six seconds. Enough time.

Lumina was on her feet, charging at me. No superpower, no finesse - just a straight, human-foot-powered, charge. She swung.

And missed.

That happens when I’m using Evade Blows.

For the low, low cost of 20 AP per second - well within my 31.8 AP per sec regen - I could dodge every haymaker and wild punch that a bleeding Lumina threw at me.

She couldn’t say the same, unfortunately, when my knee slammed into her.

DEADLY BLOW! UNARMOURED KICK DEALS 322 DAMAGE!

LADY LUMINA 698/1200 HP!

The ultrahuman heroine flew backwards, slamming into the ground. A perfect target for…

LIGHTNING STRIKE!

LADY LUMINA -180 HP!

With a howl, Viking raced forward.

150 damage per blow, times three in his berserker state, meant that a single well-delivered punch could end me.

Fortunately, Viking was relatively light. Ninety-six kilos, to be precise.

How do I know that?

Because it took exactly 67.2 MP to levitate him into the air per second.

Well. Levitate is a weak word.

What I actually did was hurl him upwards with … considerable speed.

The surprised berserker found himself eighty feet in the air before I let him go.

It took two seconds for him to hit the ground.

VIKING TAKES FALL DAMAGE!

135 DAMAGE X 3 (BERSERKER) = 405 DAMAGE!

VIKING 174/900 HP!

CONDITION INFLICTED: SHATTERED KNEE! 25% MOBILITY HANDICAP!

He was still alive after a seventy-foot fall. Yep, Viking was tough.

He wasn’t tough enough to survive another Lightning Strike.

LIGHTNING STRIKE! VIKING -180 HP!

VIKING DEFEATED! +2000 XP!

At this point, I suppose I had gotten cocky.

Which made the knife that slammed into my back a complete surprise.

QUINTANA ACHIEVES SNEAK ATTACK!

KNIFE DAMAGE: 35

SNEAK ATTACK MULTIPLIER: 10X

350 DAMAGE!

HP: 70/420

CONDITION INFLICTED: BLEED, -3 HP/SEC.

The blow sent me to my knees.

Five-sixth of my health, gone right there.

Quintana had decloaked when she struck.

QUINTANA

LEVEL 15

HP: 160/160

SKILLS: INVISIBILITY

SNEAK ATTACK

EQUIPMENT: COMBAT KNIFE: 35 DAMAGE

She swung another knife - this one aimed at my shoulder - with deadly intent.

I didn’t give her the chance to finish.

CHAIN LIGHTNING!

QUINTANA -135 HP! CONDITION INFLICTED: BLEED, -1 HP/MINUTE.

LUMINA -180 HP!

GRUMMAN -180 HP!

A scream, as the electric blast hurled Quintana away. Less damage than I thought - her bodysuit must have some sort of electric resistance…

Time enough for me to invoke Heal.

Golden light washed over me, and 200 HP returned.  The Bleed effect vanished.

HP: 267/420.

Healing Aura kept doing its job, adding another 50 HP every second.

HP: 317/420.

At 561 MP per second, I couldn’t run out unless I tried really hard. AP was a concern, though I’d husbanded it carefully through the battle…

Who was I kidding?

We’d been fighting for less than a minute. And my AP was topped up at 2800/2800, with Evade Blows running continuously.

I glanced around for Quintana - she’d snuck into invisibility again. Too bad - for her.

Because even with her resistance, she’d taken 135 damage - leaving her with 25 HP left, or about sixteen percent of her health.

I’ve been at 16% health. It’s excruciating. And I had Heal to get me past it.

Lumina stood up, her face bloody and blackened.

Huh. Those were burns. Burns I’d given her.

“You monster,” she hissed. “You killed them!”

“You ambushed me,” I yelled, dodging another shot from the Maser Cannon. “What were you expecting? Flowers?”

With an inarticulate scream of rage, Lumina rushed forward, her Eyebeam slamming into me at full force. Pushing me back.

Healing Aura wiped away the effects, pushing my HP to 420 even as I was being pummeled by the impact of a bullet each second.

I desisted from Anchor for a moment.

Can’t run it at the same time as Evade Blows. Which, as Lumina closed with me, was more important.

The ultrahuman swung at me with little of her famed technique - only anger-fuelled punches, driven by hate. Each was strong enough to turn a human into pulp, or even shatter my bones.

None of them landed.

The Eyebeam had shut off as she closed. My hands were free to punch back.

And punch back I did.

DEADLY BLOW! LADY LUMINA -215 HP!

CONDITION INFLICTED: SHATTERED RIBS!

Even as the punch hurled her backwards, Lumina screamed in pain.

You have to give her credit, though. With her ribcage probably in pieces, she still found the willpower to drag herself to her feet.

Which made her the perfect target for a Bodycharge.

LADY LUMINA -141 HP!

LADY LUMINA DEFEATED! +2000 XP!

When you kill someone with Bodycharge, it’s a very close and personal act.

You can literally feel the life leaving their body as you slam into them.

An intact ribcage protects your heart and lungs. The force of the bodycharge turned shards of the bones that had once protected her into shrapnel - shrapnel that pierced those vital organs.

Lumina didn’t die easily. She struggled, fighting the blood that choked her shredded lungs.

It took seconds for the light to leave her eyes. But they did.

And I stood up, with only one major combatant left on the enemy side.

Grumman’s suit walked towards me slowly. A blue glow ran across its surface.

Huh. Something new.

The villain spoke. “Bravely fought. But ultimately foolish. Now, you have given me the perfect reason to kill you.” The Maser Cannon whirred, charging up for another shot.

I hurled a lightning bolt at it.

LIGHTNING STRIKE!

LIGHTNING STRIKE UNSUCCESSFUL! TARGET PROTECTED BY FARADAY SHIELD.

100% RESISTANCE TO ELECTRICAL DAMAGE.

“Like my new trick?” Grumman chuckled. “It took a minute to pull off, I’ll admit. I hadn’t accounted for you being an elemental. With such an impressive powerset, too. Electric beams? Levitation? Dodging bullets? And superstrength as well as the ability to regenerate. That is a truly marvellous range for any one ultra.” The suit took a step forward. “Unfortunately, you are not a real inventor. Otherwise, you would know that the only true power is technology - and those who are born to wield it.”

“Bold words from a man in a suit,” I quipped. “What would you be if I took it away?”

“Scientific genius,” replied the villain. “Multi-millionaire. Leader of men. Lover of women. A man who made it to the top on his own merits. Who earned his way to the top of the human hierarchy with grit and determination. What would a child like you know about true grit? You had your powers handed to you on a platter.” The Maser Cannon clicked, fully charged. “But now your time is up. You can dodge a shot or two,” and the PowerAxe whirled, “but you can’t hold out forever. Exhaustion will set in. You’ll slow down. You have no tricks or tools left. And I only need one clean hit.”

“I do have a question, though,” I asked. “This field you’ve got in place. The one that blocks teleportation and signals from going out?”

“Like it? A special invention of mine.”

“You power it from your suit?”

“Thinking of ripping out the controls, are we? The field is powered by an array thirty feet underground. There are two controls - one in my suit and the other in Soundwave’s. You could probably find the one in Soundwave’s suit by dismantling it.” Grumman stepped forward, now only a dozen feet from me. “Of course, you probably won’t be alive long enough for that. Curiosity satisfied?”

I nodded.

“Good. Now - like the cat - you shall die.”

The PowerAxe swung at me.

There’s an art to fighting. If your opponent has ranged and melee weapons, and all you have is melee, then you want to close the range.

Grumman had neutered Lightning Strike, and knew I could dodge shots from his cannon - so close range made sense for him.

He hadn’t guessed that I could Evade Blows. So he was trusting in his PowerAxe to wear me out, and betting that his armour could take a beating from unarmoured fists.

The PowerAxe passed inches above my head. Inches as good as miles.

The Overlord suit lurched, slightly overbalanced from the swing. It took Grumman a second to correct, then the PowerAxe was headed at me again…

Another dodge.

This suit wasn’t as nimble as the Wolf. Or the Greyhound.

I dodged a third wild swing - seriously, Grumman needed to practice some Armour Katas. And I was close enough.

No tricks, no tools?

My carry capacity is three times my STR stat. Which means that I can carry one hundred and twenty-nine kilos of equipment in my Inventory.

The Nanothorn Kukri weighs only two.

The blade manifested in my hands, six feet long. It takes both hands to wield when you’re not in armour, and consumes 25 MP per second. And if you don’t have mechanical muscles to back it up, there’s a minimum STR requirement of 30.

Easy for me.

I swung the Kukri at the Overlord battlesuit.

DEADLY BLOW!

NANOTHORN KUKRI DOES 2000 BASE DAMAGE + 43% FROM STR BOOST + 160% FROM EDGED WEAPONS LEVEL 16 + 5X DAMAGE MULTIPLIER FROM DEADLY BLOW.

TOTAL DAMAGE INFLICTED: 37,180.

CONDITION INFLICTED: PULVERISE.

GRUMMAN DEFEATED! +10,000 XP!

The Overlord Battlesuit exploded into fragments.

Shards of fullersteel flew outwards, mixed with bits of blood and gore. The Kurki hadn’t just sliced through the battlesuit - it had generated a shockwave as it did, tearing the whole thing apart.

A wave of wet fluids splattered all around. Body parts.

I hadn’t just sliced through the battlesuit - I’d sliced through the pilot as well. And the force of the blow had atomized Grumman.

Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

… Now what?

I reached for Nanocloud.

Still nothing. Evidently killing Grumman hadn’t turned off the jamming field.

What was it he’d said? An array thirty feet underground, and controls in his - and Soundwave’s - battlesuit.

There was very little left of the Overlord.

Soundwave’s armour, though…

I walked over to the broken pieces. Anything that looked like a controller…

The armour was splattered with blood, splinters of metal scattered across the ground. Even then, it was more intact than what remained of the Overlord…

Beside the body lay what could best be described as a puddle of blood. And leading away from that…

Footprints.

I smiled. Then turned around, scanning the park.

“Quintana.”

The bloody footprints continued… forward, to where she’d struck me. And from there…

“I know you’re here.”

When I’d hurled her backward with Chain Lightning, she’d fallen… there. And turned invisible again.

“You took the jamming field controls. I suggest you drop the field and run.”

No response.

She was playing it smart.

Unfortunately, they’d forgotten one of my bag of tricks.

“Mindstrike.”

Purple light lanced out, heading …

… towards a depression in the ground.

MINDSTRIKE!

QUINTANA -20 HP! QUINTANA 4/160 HP!

The veil of invisibility dropped with a scream.

I strode over. Quintana lay there, clutching a remote in one hand - and her knife in the other.

Tiny charred craters dotted her skin - signs of internal burns. Blood ran from here nose.

I towered over her.

“The field control remote.” My voice was harsh.

Quintana stared at me, her face still partly concealed by the mask. Underneath, I could see a woman - possibly in her thirties, not older. “Please… help me. I…” she coughed.

“The remote, Quintana. Or your life.”

“... I have children!”

“I DON’T CARE!” I roared. “SWITCH OFF THE FIELD OR DIE!”

Quintana’s visible eye was … terrified. Wordlessly, she clenched her fist - around something.

LEVEL 8 JAMMER FIELD REMOVED.

The first sensation that returned was a voice screaming in my ear.

<Nanocloud>: … ANDREW! ANDREW!

<Belessar>: I’m here.

<Nanocloud>: Oh thank God… We tried sending reinforcements, but they’re held up by the force field…

A rasping cough drew my attention.

QUINTANA 3/160 HP.

I sighed. “Do you surrender?”

Quintana nodded, dropping the knife.

QUINTANA DEFEATED. +1000 XP.

“Heal,” I murmured.

Golden light washed over Quintana, healing her wounds. She gasped.

QUINTANA +157 HP.

CONDITION REMOVED: BLEED.

“Listen to me very carefully, Quintana. The police, Feds, whoever from law enforcement has to deal with this mess - they’re going to come and take you into custody. Do you understand?”

The ultra nodded.

“And when they do, you’re going to tell them everything. How Grumman contacted you. What led Lumina down this path. You’re going to plead guilty to whatever crimes they charge you with.”

“But…” the ultra began.

I held up a hand for silence.

“You can choose to plead innocent,” my voice went deathly quiet. “You can choose to argue, claim you weren’t actually planning to kill me. But we both know that’s a lie, don’t we?”

Quintana quailed under my gaze.

“So you either go to jail for whatever time it takes. Or. I will find you. And I will kill you.” A thought struck me. “Unless I’m on Skyguard, in which case I will send someone to kill you.”

QUINTANA IS INTIMIDATED.

The ultra choked out, “I understand.”

FOR KILLING THREE OF THE ULTRAS OF TANISPORT, YOU RECEIVE -12 ETHICS.

FOR CONVINCING A MISGUIDED ULTRA TO SURRENDER, NO ETHICS LOST.

“Goodbye, Quintana.”

And with that, I opened a portal.

Back home. To 2508 Pendleton.

Soundwave and Lumina had been transmitting my face - and my identity - to an audience.

The time for hiding was past.