April 25th, 2013
Now
I don't wanna sound like a whiny bitch-.
The little Reach ship I was flying at-. Its force field bends and
breaks as I fly at it, fists out. I power through, smashing into the hull armour which breaks just as easily. And then there's kind of a weird bit where I'm flying
through the ship, and things are starting to come apart but the people inside haven't realised it yet. I see them doing whatever they do, looking around in surprise as the wall next to them breaks and I fly through. I slow down for a moment and shove one of them out of the way before carrying on, heading for the opposite side of the ship. They've got spacesuits, so they'll probably survive. And if they don't, it's a war. No one is going to care about dead space nazis.
And I failed already.
But come on! Between being able to melt things by pointing at them and
actual super strength, what would
anyone pick?
I turn back around, and it's great how much smoother the motion is than the old version. That's still
there, but now my organs are extra-toughened I can use more force without turning my insides into slushie.
And
back through the ship. BOOM!
Okay, no actual boom, but they know how I wrecked this little patrol's
other ships, so they've-. They've got to be running away from the parts I'm smashing. I don't… See any Reach-goo on my hands when the hull on the far side
explodes away from me, so I think I'm good and superhero-approved.
I will say this about super-melting powers. Pushing through a ship this way a lot tidier. Hulls are designed
not to break, obviously, but if you melt them a bit first then the hole out is
clean.
Oh. No. Looks like that one didn't get into a spacesuit in time. They sort of.. wave at me for a moment. The Controller told me that Reach people are a bit more resistant to getting spaced than humans, but… I mean, what? What do you want me to do? None of my upgrades let me magic up a spacesuit, and you're the enemy anyway.
I mean… I
guess I could push them back through into the ship. The atmosphere bubble thing usually holds up for a while-.
Some sort of blue laser thing hits them, and they stop moving. I glance back, kind of annoyed. I mean, we're in a war, I decided to save some guy's life, and-.
A gun drone. Something-. Not everything the Controller been collecting can be used in
me-. Or the other Effigies. So we get little robots around, watching how we do things-. Cameras so he can tell me what to do differently, how to use my powers better. And they have guns because we're in a war.
"Effigy One. Is there a problem?"
"I just thought I'd take that guy prisoner."
"Why?"
"I mean…" The ship behind me starts to snap in half as the holes I made in it start spreading. "Because…"
Because
that's being a superhero, and that's…
That's the best thing to
be. Except the Controller thinks the best thing to be is the Controller. And the next best is a good weapon.
I can't sigh in space. And-. Yeah, the Controller's been upfront about what he expects from me. I get powers but I gotta put in the
hours. I'm not trying to say insect-space-nazi didn't deserve it or wouldn't have done it to me-.
"Interrogation, maybe?"
"We have plenty."
There's a… Space-wobble thing as the Legion salvage team arrives. Can't see any active Reach ships, so I guess that's it. The Controller was a bit annoyed that I couldn't describe it better than 'space wobble'. Guess I got a couple of extra senses from one of my upgrades, but I'm not really sure which one it was.
"But that one might have been unique."
What am I doing? Just.. shut up and get back to work.
I fly over to the hull and start ripping off the gun-. Oh yeah, that's easier than it used to be.
"Possible, but unlikely."
"I'm just saying… We don't know. And we could have found out. You know?"
"We are not here to gather intelligence. I only do this much because it is more convenient than dealing with complaints from allied Controllers."
"Complaints? What are they complaining about?"
"It need not concern you."
And I can't help but think. The old woman Controller Paul hangs out with, the one in charge of the Orange Lantern Corps. She's their boss, isn't she? She's the only one I've seen telling another Controller what to do. And she's on the Nemo Council. And there's that other Controller who runs the Darkstars, he's on the Council too.
My Controller… He's kind of… Just got
me. I haven't seen him working with the Controllers making the ships or doing stuff for the old woman. So…
Does that mean he's, like, the Controller-me? He just wants his own thing that he can do well, and… And he's not just going to work for someone else if he doesn't
have to-.
The weird field he put over the Reach patrol so they couldn't call for help or run away disappears, and the Controller… I think he's actually here in person. He doesn't usually do that. He flies over, but he's not looking at me. He's staring at that weird crystal he picked up a few days ago.
I straighten up a bit, though I don't think he'll care or notice.
"Sir?"
"Secrecy is secured. I will have another target for you presently."
"Is it an important one?"
"I do not yet know how to conceal an entire star system. There are few things that the Reach truly values that are smaller than that."
"How about a bigger ship, then?"
"I will consider it. For now, I wish to continue trials of your abilities here."
I nod, but he's still not looking.
"My studies indicate that your strength is to a degree dependent on your mental focus."
"Like a Green Lantern?"
"An apt analogy. Your body now responds to the force of your will, which forces the exotic matter to conform to its requirements."
"So it's kind of like what I was doing with telekinesis, only…"
"Yes. You will have to identify the mental triggers yourself."
Still not looking up from that crystal, he points to the front bit of one of the ships I just wrecked.
"Fly through that at maximum speed. Think of nothing but the action. I will monitor you."
Guess Legion finished taking prisoners off it. Amazing what teleporters can do. I turn, hold out my
fists and fly-.
Oh.
I guess they
hadn't finished with it, then.
Resurrection Man, or someone else? Edit: Ah, right. Vandal Savage. Been so long since we saw him in Paragon timeline...
But certainly, get some eyes familiar with malign hypercognitive disorders on Jevek...