Bad Beat - Chapter 51 - Unsteady (Patreon)

After eating the rice, Gabriel lay on the bed, waiting as warmth coursed through his body, slowly but surely reducing the pain radiating from his stomach. There were dozens of things he should have been doing, but instead he just lay there, unmoving, staring up at the ceiling.

His head was empty of any thoughts, seemingly unable to focus on anything as the spiritual rice did its job.

Sparky, inside the drones, buzzed around him, but for now he ignored her. He felt a bit bad about it, but he honestly had no idea what to say to the young AI. No doubt she had listened to the entire conversation with Bombshell, and maybe even recorded it.

Not that it would help.

Bombshell’s people only had to float the idea of computer-generated video or actors dressing up, and he would be right back at the starting line.

For now, Gabriel had to play along with Bombshell’s demands. No matter how ridiculous they were…

“Heh…” he giggled a little.

The fact that Bombshell genuinely didn’t know that the Enchanter everyone seemed to be hunting for was him was utterly fascinating. He didn’t know how yet, but he felt there were probably several ways he could use this misunderstanding to his advantage…

At least if he managed to survive until then.

It seemed like the universe was very intent on killing him. First, a building almost collapsed on him thanks to a fight between a ‘hero’ and a villain. Then he was almost shot, another building nearly collapsed on him, and he got caught between two more fighting supers. After that, his ‘secret identity’ became a domestic terrorist, and just after two supers once again almost accidentally killed him with their fight, a superhero threatened to kill him if he didn’t follow their orders.

Gabriel grunted a little, frowning thoughtfully

‘Putting all these together, it doesn’t really sound accidental…’

Letting out a long, suffering sigh, he sat up on the bed, blinking blearily as he dealt with the sudden wave of disorientation before turning vaguely toward one of the buzzing drones.

“Go and prep the living room,” he said. “I’m going to take a shower…”

An affirmative buzz was his answer.

Half an hour later, feeling a bit more refreshed and alert, he sat on his couch in his customary spot, holding a glass of water created by his power while staring at the screens Sparky was projecting above the table.

One screen showed Bombshell, her bio, and a few of the latest news articles about her. Another displayed all the material Sparky had managed to collect on Enchanter: reports, news articles, and even forum posts from people claiming they had seen the super.

Why he would rob a shop in Long Beach, Gabriel didn’t know…

Nonetheless, the moment his picture went up and he was declared, at least in that form, a villain, people immediately started claiming they had seen him do this or that, committing crimes ranging from petty nuisance to global genocide.

Gabriel suspected that most of those comments were from trolls or people piling onto the latest online meme before moving on to something else once his fifteen minutes of fame faded into the ether. However, he had no doubt there were also a small number of people – maybe supers, maybe not – who saw an opportunity.

And that, in turn, gave him an opportunity…

“Try to filter out the trolls, Sparky, and leave the actual sightings, please,” he told the AI.

He watched as the screen instantly came alive. Screens flashed by, appearing and disappearing, while smaller windows displayed cascades of code being written in almost real time. The text shifted from cheerful green to blue, then sections turned red before the color spread across the entire screen. A moment later, it all cleared and returned to green.

“Sparky, have you been watching CSI shows?” he asked, rolling his eyes.

[Ratings were high.]

“You know those hacking scenes aren't realistic, right?” he asked with a long-suffering sigh.

[This unit had fun.]

[Is parental unit denying this unit the joy of watching TV shows?]

[Hmmph.]

[Meanie.]

“You know what... watch whatever you want,” he told her with a small smile. “As long as you know it’s not realistic.”

[This unit is not a dumb-dumb like parental unit.]

“I can feel the love…” he muttered.

Five minutes later, the screen finally calmed down and displayed two files. Each contained links, maps with marked locations, and excerpts from forum posts with logical conclusions drawn from them.

The first detailed a string of break-ins around Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach, with the perpetrator wearing the same clothing he did. However, as he watched the low-quality security camera footage, he recognized that while it was the same hoodie he had used, many of the small embellishments added by his transformation were missing.

It was clear, at least to him, that this was a copycat using Gabriel's identity to commit petty burglaries.

Letting out a sigh, he turned to the other document. It was much sparser, but it was actually about a person here in San Bernardino.

Apparently, there had been reports of someone entering and leaving abandoned warehouses dressed exactly like the person in the news photo. Some brave people, playing investigative journalists, had checked those warehouses after the individual left and found them filled with foul smells mixed with a distinct medicinal odor.

“Hmm… maybe somebody has a power that works well with Enchanter and decided to co-opt the identity?” he mused aloud as he read through the document Sparky had put together.

“Can you look into this guy?”

[Girl.]

“What?”

[It’s clearly a woman.]

[Based on gait and body shape, the person under the hoodie is clearly a woman.]

[Hehe~~]

[Clearly flat.]

Gabriel sent a look at one of the drones. “It’s not like you can boast about any of those…”

[Gasp!]

[Parental unit is horrible for commenting on a growing young girl’s body!]

[Sexist pig!]

Gabriel looked up at the ceiling, beseeching whatever higher power had put him here for a solution. However, when no angelic choir descended to deliver salvation, or eldritch tentacles reached through the gaps between the unknown to pull him from this dimension, he turned back to the young AI and bowed his head.

“I’m really sorry about that,” he told the drone, which was somehow looking down at him imperiously. It had even grown two thin, articulated arms and crossed them in front of itself.

For a few seconds, they stared at each other before the drone finally uncrossed its robotic arms.

[This unit will magnanimously forgive parental unit this time.]

“You’re the very model of generosity,” Gabriel said flatly. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

[Parental unit better!]

[This unit has perfect memory.]

“Yes, yes…” he said with a nod before gesturing toward the documents. “But let’s talk about the woman. Can you check the local cameras?”

[Unfortunately, most local cameras are either fake or not functional.]

[However, comprehensive searches show several break-ins reported in local nurseries and flower shops.]

“Alright. Then we can assume she has some kind of skill-type power, focused on chemistry or maybe even alchemy…” he mused aloud.

He tapped a finger against his arm as he thought, before turning back to Sparky. “Can you put together an information packet with the info about both of them, but make sure to hide the fact that she is a woman?”

[This unit is not a man, so this unit is easily capable.]

[Harumpf.]

“Thank you, thank you…” he said, waving off the complaint.

Gabriel was going through the packet that Sparky had put together, having her modify it a few times as she went a little overzealous and included details that a ‘normal’ person like him would never have been able to figure out without outside help.

Then he had her add a few grammar and punctuation errors, just to make sure it looked like human hands had made it. Finally, he had her sanitize the entire thing by stripping out all metadata and timestamps.

Gabriel was about to have her convert it into another file format and then back again when his phone began to buzz.

He flinched and carefully reached for the device. Unlocking the screen, he saw that it was Bombshell. Apparently, she wasn’t wasting any time.

Opening the messaging app, he read her message.

Then Gabriel placed the phone on the table and began massaging his forehead with his fingers. After a few moments, he let out a deep breath and picked the phone back up.

A selfie of Bombshell standing in front of a mirror, giving him a V-sign while fully dressed in uniform and grinning at the camera with a dark smile. The background looked like the corridor of some generic office building. He suspected it was one of the Helix buildings.

“Is she flirting or threatening me?” he muttered as he scrolled down.

Underneath it were a few lines.

BestShellRack: Hey, doggy! This is your new owner!

BestShellRack: I need info on Enchanter by the end of the week. So hop to it.

Staring at the username, Gabriel let out a sigh. However, before he answered, he turned to Sparky. “Can you include a tracer in the message back?”

[It is possible.]

“Then please try to trace her phone and see if you can infiltrate it.”

[Roger, roger.]

He anxiously waited until Sparky gave him the green light, then sent the message back.

Gabriel: OK.

He barely had to wait a second before receiving a reply.

BestShellRack: Lame name. Good boy.

Then she sent another selfie. This time, she was sitting on the roof of some building, sipping from a cup of coffee and grinning at him.

Gabriel let out another sigh as he put the phone down. “Look at me… already receiving private selfies from the most famous superhero in the West. Yay me…” he muttered.

Putting it out of his mind for the moment, he refocused on discussing the orders Sparky had placed. Soon it would be time to pick them up, and they would need to plan the route.

Thankfully, the next day was his day off, so he had a bit more time to process everything that had happened to him. He was in the middle of playing some small indie game with Sparky—the AI absolutely beating the pants off him – when his phone rang. Thankfully, he had the foresight to assign Bombshell her own ringtone, so he didn't immediately panic.

Gabriel set the phone down after talking with Mia.

She was currently holed up in her apartment, spending her time catching up on commissions and researching their target whenever she took a break from writing.

She had asked him to make a quick grocery run because she was running low on yogurt and sanitary pads. As always, she'd called him because she was in the middle of writing something and didn't want to lose her inspiration.

A bit annoyed but not truly bothered, Gabriel checked his own fridge to see if he needed anything before heading to the nearby corner store.

'Maybe I'll reward myself with some chocolate...' he mused as he pulled on his shoes.

Five minutes later, he was walking down the street with music blaring in his ears, enjoying the weather while mentally going over his plans for the Deck. Those items were soon going to be here, and he had several plans. He had spent a lot of time browsing the net and looking for ideas. Plus, with the whole threat of Bombshell ripping out of his spine, he needed something that would give him an edge over her.

He entered the corner store, picked up a basket, nodded to the Indian man behind the register, and went foraging.

He was in the middle of the snack aisle, debating between two kinds of chocolate, when he heard the most detestable sound imaginable.

An explosion.

BAMMM

CRASH

CRACK

The shop shook, and he felt plaster rain down from the ceiling onto his shoulders. Several shelves began to teeter as screams erupted outside. The Indian shopkeeper started yelling something in a language Gabriel didn't understand, but Gabriel just stood there, the basket hanging from the crook of his arm, one chocolate bar in each hand.

“Oh, come on... Not again!”

With a sigh, he reached through his link to the ring, transformed it into his Shadow Stalker armor, activated its invisibility, then turned and headed for the back door. There was no way he was sticking around. He had made that mistake once. Not again.

Looking down at the items in his basket as they seemingly hovered in midair for no apparent reason, he shrugged and used one of his cards to absorb the whole thing. He did not want to have to go shopping again.

A/N: Is she flirting? Is she mentally ill? Who knows? (I do.) Happy reading!