FIEB Chapter 52 (Patreon)

Dylan POV

I crouched low on the dense mass of insect constructs, staring down at the ground racing past far below. The HUD in my helmet read 1857 feet. We were well west of the city now. The residential areas had given way to dark forests in the mountainous region west of Brockton Bay.

To my left, Vespera rode her own platform of buzzing insects. A short distance away, Battery and Assault shared a third mass, the two of them crouched and braced against the wind.

It was probably a new experience for them...

It wasn't my decision for them to be a part of the rescue team, but Armsmaster had made a somewhat convincing argument. Battery, when fully charged up, could match Velocity's speed for a brief moment without any of his limitations, and Assault was here as additional backup while the rest of the capes of the PRT would be on high alert in case something tipped off the ABB and Lung came out to play.

Initially, I had wanted to wait for New Wave, or more specifically, I wanted to wait for Panacea, but Piggot had shot it down hard. She did not want one of the world's best healers anywhere near tinker-tech bombs.

In hindsight, I should have thought of that... I still had a long way to go.

My stomach dropped a little as Vespera banked us lower. The mass of insects dipped until we were barely skimming the treetops. Despite the situation, there was something liberating about being able to fly in the sky. I had felt it briefly when Vicky had carried me, but back then I had too much to think about and couldn't enjoy it like now.

I had calmed down in the past 30 minutes; the situation was not unsalvageable. It could be dealt with. Still, it was a surprise the PRT accepted my plan. It was something I couldn't understand, but I could deal with it later.

"We're almost at the location," Vespera said over the open channel.

I willed my HUD to bring up the map. She was right. Another few hundred meters and we'd be on top of it. Going the rest of the way on foot would be smarter.

"Are you certain you want to do this alone?" Battery's voice came through. I could tell she wasn't fully convinced.

I had given them a temporary communicator I had made for situations like this. They were nowhere near as advanced as my own, but they would do their job. I had laid out the plan prior to us taking flight via Vespera Express. It was simple: I would infiltrate the hideout, mind-trick the guards, and based on the situation, handle it further.

Another point to carefully note: they had not reacted to me saying I would essentially master someone... they had known...

And my answer to the main problem of Bakuda's bombs was... Mechu-deru.

Tinker-tech to the Force was, after all, just technology. I had tested it, starting Armsmaster's bike by simply looking at it. If the man's stiffening was any giveaway, I had just been upped in his threat assessment.

"We just need to retrieve our new friends," I said into the open channel. "We're not looking for a fight. With the time constraint, this is the only real option. Take us down, Vespera."

The insect platforms simply dropped in a controlled descent until the forest floor rose up to meet us. I leapt the last few feet, using the Force to muffle the impact as my boots hit the forest floor. Battery and Assault landed a moment later and moved closer to me.

"You two sure you want to stay down here?" I asked.

Battery gave a dry nod while Assault flashed a cocky grin.

"This ain't our first rodeo, kid. We're just the lookout in case we run into Oni Lee. Hopefully, we don't, though. That would ruin everything."

He was right...

I then switched to a private channel to Vespera. "Jet up top and keep an eye on everything. I'm counting on you."

"Understood," she said emotionlessly and went back up in a flourish of her insects.

She's getting really good, I thought. Her reconnaissance of the area would be thorough.

Assault, Battery, and I moved quickly through the last couple hundred meters of forest. The trees gave way to a small clearing until a semi-dilapidated warehouse came into view. It was bare-bones with thin walls and a large truck parked on the far side facing a narrow dirt road that disappeared into the trees. The situation instantly brought me back to the time when I had taken down one of the ABB's farms.

I glanced at Battery and Assault and gave them a short nod. Then I moved toward the warehouse alone.

There were guards, but nowhere near as many as I'd expected. Two men stood near the main entrance. I'll give them credit: they were awake.

The ABB surely thought they wouldn't be caught...

I glided along the outer wall, using the Force to muffle every step. When I reached the first pair of guards, I simply reached out with the Force and pushed into their simple minds. It took almost no effort to push them under. Both men slumped where they stood as they dozed off silently. Ensuring there was no one else outside the warehouse, I slipped inside, keeping to the deeper shadows that were cast by the moon.

The interior was almost completely dark. If I'm reading this right, they don't have any source of electricity. Seven ABB guards were clustered near one side, some sitting against the wall, others stretched out on the concrete floor, clearly asleep. Further back, seventeen people lay unconscious in a loose group. My HUD quickly tagged and counted every single one of them.

Thank the Force the four people we needed were here, and most importantly, they were alive.

I needed to be careful; there could be no mistakes, I thought. From the shadows of the night, I raised my hand at the only one who was waking up. Telekinetic pressure locked his body in place while a parallel mental command blanketed his mind. He never made a sound. His feet left the floor as I floated him silently out. With another thought, I did the same with the four people we needed to retrieve and made my way out.

I had to get some answers...

There was no point in hiding what I could do. I was fairly certain one of the reasons Battery and Assault had been assigned to this was so they could see exactly what I was capable of. I wasn't going to waste time pretending otherwise.

"Vespera, any movements on our end?" I asked her.

"No. Are you out?"

"Yeah. I just need to deactivate the bombs and then decide what to do with the other people still inside. We can't leave them here."

"...I agree."

I moved quickly toward the perimeter positions where Assault and Battery were waiting. They tensed when they saw the five floating bodies following me. I set the four rescued captives down carefully on the leaf litter, then placed the still-frozen guard a short distance away.

Assault started to step closer. I held up a hand, stopping him.

I closed my eyes for a moment and centered myself in the Force. The words from the vision rose unbidden in my mind.

Emotion, yet peace.

When I opened my eyes again, I reached out with Mechu-deru. The Force slid into the first captive's head. I felt the small, intricate device nestled against the base of the skull—Bakuda's work, no doubt.With a focused command, I deactivated the bomb, severed every external connection, and made certain nothing would ever report back to its creator with a relieved sigh.

I did the same for the other three.

Only when the last device was inert did I speak into the open channel.

"We're good."

Assault shifted his weight. "So what now?"

"Shall we take them back?" Battery asked.

"There are still people inside," Vespera's voice came through.

I nodded even though she couldn't see me. "I agree with Vespera. Let's get some answers first."

Battery had walked over by then. She looked confused as I turned my attention to the frozen guard. I released just enough of the mental hold to let him surface into consciousness, but not enough to let him speak or move on his own.

The Force pressed the questions into his mind with quiet inevitability.

Is Bakuda near?

"No."

What will happen to the people inside?

"We are to take them back to the city tomorrow morning."

I nodded to myself. That matched what I had already suspected from the small surgical scars on the seventeen unconscious people still inside the warehouse.

I pushed one final set of instructions into the man's mind.

You will not remember this. These four were never here. If anyone asks, you will say you did exactly as you were told.

Then I knocked him out cold again.

When I looked up, both Assault and Battery were watching me with open tension. They had just seen how far my Master abilities could go, and they clearly didn't like it. That was their problem, not mine.

I ignored their reactions and switched back to Vespera.

"Vespera, I need your help moving these four back to the city. I'll deal with the rest of the thugs inside and deactivate the remaining bombs. Once that's done, I'll stay until the people are delivered safely."

I glanced at Assault. "I hope this is fine."

He gave a stiff nod. "Of course. Let's get moving then."

Yes... let's...