Unity by Carl Stubblefield (epub read online books TXT) 📕

myself. The manor? My opportunity? Things keep escalating, and they’re spinning out of control. And that’s the last place someone like me should be, out of control. It says it in my first ability. Wreckless. I wreck everything I come in contact with and I’m reckless. The worst of two possible worlds. Both destructive. I don’t know what I would eventually turn into, but I can imagine if I continue on this path it could only get worse.”

“You don’t know that for sure. There are a lot of suppositions in that argument.”

Gus ignored Nick and pressed on. “I don’t think humans were supposed to get powers in the way I did. Without training and a real mentorship, slowly leveling as skills developed. I’m too lopsided and top-heavy. My powers are too strong to manage at this stage for someone with my maturity and skill. And so many of them bumping around that I haven’t even mastered the rudiments of a fraction of them.”

“So take a break and master them!”

“There’s no time, Nick. You heard how elusive this guy is. If I can end him, think of what that’ll do. I’m sure it will end more suffering by him being gone than anything I could ever accomplish if I worked the rest of my life. I don’t even trust that I can stay in control anymore. I haven’t really been doing a bang-up job so far since I’ve become a super. I haven’t really done anything that’s made the world a better place.”

“You stopped those Dark Nth.”

“I could have let the volcano take care of them. I think it was my greed in keeping the manor and my need to impress my father and friends that underlay all of those efforts.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that you did it, at great personal sacrifice. You realize that I can see those changes happening on the inside, don’t you? You can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me. You’re afraid and embarrassed. But you don’t have to be.”

“I know you’re trying to be encouraging, but I don’t need a cheerleader now. The time for that is gone. I’ll tell you what. If I survive this and beat Mengele, then I’ll make whatever changes you suggest.”

“No. You already agreed to that, remember? Why would I trust you now if you didn’t keep that promise? You go off on others not keeping promises, and you do the same to yourself, which is why you doubt your decisions all of the time.”

“You know what? You’re absolutely right. And it proves my point. I’m unreliable. I don’t deserve being on a team or in a family, because I’m a screw-up. I mess things up no matter how hard I try. I can’t help it. And I’m so tired. It’s so demoralizing to always be trudging uphill, fighting each step and having everything pull me down. I can’t keep this up forever.

“I know myself. I quit too easily. At one time, I thought that I could hold out and keep working if one day things would pan out, but sometimes it is what it is. No matter how well I can imagine a Pollyanna future, life never turns out that way. Especially for guys like me.”

“You managed to defeat Manticorps, and prevent that psycho from taking all those abilities and using them for who knows what nefarious purposes. He could have formed a super army and sowed discord and attacked the Factions and districts. Who knows what havoc the world would be facing now?”

“It’s all the same. I used that situation to grab powers and abilities, thinking if I was just more powerful, then I could make a difference. I know better now. Power doesn’t mean influence. There’s a reason why some people can persuade others to do what they need to, and why I will always be someone who engenders doubt and has no one follow me. Because that’s the way it should be.

“Think about it. What real benefit do people have in following me? I don’t know what the hell I’m doing with just myself. I don’t know why my hybrid-Nth have managed to stay with me throughout all the mistakes I’ve made. Probably holding on ‘til they’re close enough to move to another host. Either way, they’re better off without me. So is my family, the Factions, and everyone else. I’m toxic.”

“Giving up again. I’m disappointed.”

“It’s the opposite of giving up, Nick! It’s going out with a bang and not a whimper. You even said so yourself, my mental situation is not improving, I probably don’t have much time anyways. Am I right?”

Nick didn’t reply, just grumbled.

“So it’s settled. Now please don’t distract me from making this last plan work, at least give me that.”

“As you wish.”

Gus opened the door at the bottom of the lift, surprised to find it unlocked.

Doesn’t seem like a top secret villain lair… he thought as he activated Phase Shift and slipped inside. There was a camera pointed at the door, and while he wasn’t visible, the movement of the door could have triggered something. He got into cover and switched over to Camouflage, taking in the surroundings.

Unlike the elevator, which appeared weathered and caked with dirt, this area was pristine, and resembled an upscale doctor’s waiting room. The walls had vertical recesses with large lights that shone down, either on a plant, a sculpture, or some water feature. Besides the soothing trickle of water spilling nearby over a tiny rock wall, the place was silent.

Unsure of what to do next, Gus cycled through all of his perception filters, but nothing out of the ordinary was to be seen. That made him more edgy than an outright attack, but a glance at the slow but constant drain on his MP urged him to move along. He would transfer to Phase Shift, Dash to another place of cover, then switch over to Camouflage and wait for his MP to rebound. After encountering no resistance for half an