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

eyes stared up at the ceiling, and the boy’s pallid skin had the sickly cast of a body that had been underwater for too long. Gus ignored the blue notices that popped up on his display post-battle and just stared at the dead boy.

“This changes everything,” Tempest said gravely.

Chapter Eight

Going, Going, Gone

“Revenants are made, they don’t just happen. And they’re made by supers. Also a handy way of cleaning up so there are no bodies to examine. There’s something else that unsettles me about this. Some of it is too familiar, but without my access to the Faction database, I can’t be sure. I just hope there’s something in the files we obtained to give us another lead.” Tempest shook his head then turned and punched the wall, creating a cloud of dust as the drywall disintegrated. Harmony ran over and put an arm around him.

“We’ll find her…” was all Gus could hear, the rest lost in murmurs.

Yuki motioned to BoJack and they headed into medical and started working on one of the consoles there. Gus saw them searching the medical records, but by their expressions the news wasn’t good.

BoJack glanced at Tempest and pursed his lips as he began, “She was here, and not too long ago. They had her on high concentrations of sedatives and she was in a pod, similar to those used in game hospices. They could have been controlling what she viewed as reality for who knows how long.”

“For fourteen years, six months, and two days most likely,” was the deadpan reply. Tempest stared ahead, and Gus noticed the weariness there. How long had his father had hopes of this being the end of his separation only to find it a dead-end?

“If you did not hear, exactly fourteen years—” Nick began, intruding on Gus’ thoughts.

Enough! Obviously, I know that. I just never thought my mother’s absence affected him as it did me. Nick remained silent but Gus could sense the AI was miffed at his reply.

Gus looked closer at his father, always a bastion of strength and impassivity. He was always so unflappable and in control, but he looked on the verge of breaking. It was such a shock and out of character that it was hard for him to process. As far as Gus could remember, he never showed weakness of any sort. But now, for the first time, Gus could see how old his father had become.

“Do you have everything?” Tempest asked solemnly and Yuki nodded. Without a word he turned and began to leave. “We’re done here then. Let’s go.”

A beefy hand clapped Gus on the back, startling him.

“Good on ya, lad. The Crew and I had some concerns about how you would do in a real situation, but you made me proud. We could have been in a spot when that beastie got free.” Darik smiled broadly at Gus.

A smile stole across his face at the compliment as he watched Darik walk away, rubbing his spiky faux-hawk hair while he congratulated other team members. As everyone made their way back to the ship, many of the Crew congratulated him or gave him a thumbs up. The distance they had maintained had definitely relaxed a bit.

The ride back home was uneventful. Yuki had apparently turned off base defenses or got the system to recognize their ship because no missiles harried their departure. Occasionally Gus looked back at where Yuki and Tempest were working through the files. It must not have been good, because his father kept running his fingers through his hair then sat clutching his chin as he searched through the files they downloaded.

As they neared the manor, Tempest stood and addressed the team.

“I have some bad news. The attack on the facility was unexpected and I can find no links to who may be responsible. The only thing we did find out was that they were experimenting on individuals and a lot of that research seemed to be focused on inducing regs to become supers and developing ways to teach a skill from one super to another. They had very few successes, one being the individual we fought as a Revenant. No information exists on where these volunteers came from, or if they were even there willingly. But apparently over two hundred people were part of the research and trials. That’s just what we know about the patients at the facility. Who knows how much support staff was there in addition to that? I’m afraid that’s all we have.” Tempest slapped the headrest of the chair he was holding and turned to sit down.

A female super, one of the two Gus had never spoken to, began speaking to Tempest. Wreckognize revealed her name to be Seneschal, and Gus mentally kicked himself for not using the ability earlier to learn everyone’s names.

While Gus could not hear everything, he was close enough to pick up some of the arguments. While he had never learned to read lips, he saw that True Sight had activated and he could interpret the whispered words.

“Absolutely not! Who knows what she will ask for!” Tempest hissed.

“You said that we have no leads, what else are we to do?” Seneschal pleaded.

“She’s too unpredictable. On top of that, I don’t trust her. I would have gone a long time ago, but the demands she gave the last liaison that Purple Faction sent to her were laughably unreasonable. I wouldn’t doubt if she’s gone insane.”

“You don’t know that. She could be our only lead.”

Tempest glared at her, face torn with emotion. “I’ll consider it, but I’m not getting my hopes up. Who knows if she’s even still around? The last I heard of her was five years ago,” he said dismissively.

“Leave it to me. I realize this situation is difficult, but don’t get mad at the team. We’re all here to help you, so you need to rein it in.”

Tempest nodded in assent, and his expression became stern again as he made his decision. He stood again and