MILO

Who would have thought that nuclear warheads contained copious amounts of electricity?

An explosion of sweetness, the world around him slowed to a crawl. Sam’s face was contorted mid-curse. Milo’s mind darted through the warhead’s circuitry, every ounce of electrical energy was absorbed by his touch. No source left untapped. His body drunk greedily on the waves of pumping energy. He stood up, outside the hibernation pod, his vision tinted blue as electrical tendrils raced across his body. But even this source had a bottom. The moment came to an end and the world sped up again, he let go of the drained warhead.

...Empowered. The barriers of hesitation and fear obliterated. He, a conduit of excited electrons. Energy rippled through him. His very breath electrifying the air. He gasped at his own capacity.

One last chance. Something poked on his mind. A feeble attempt. The vines burnt to crisps as tendrils shot after them.

“Thoughts are electrical signals,” Milo whispered.

But the warhead’s massive energy was too much for him. The capacity slid between his fingers...

Milo dove into his mind. The darkness, the deposits. He sped past the water deposit. The blood deposit came into view, into reach. He tore into it and roared as the red liquid flooded his mouth, his body. The taste of iron.

...Empowered. He extended a palm up and forward, towards all the unworthy weaklings. That something poked inside his head again. A bolt of lightning thundered from his palm, tendrils merging together. But something pulled Saif down onto and into the floor, the bolt struck instead a combat suit. Electrocuting the man on impact. The mind control. His tendrils shot out in all directions, burning away Saif’s mental seeds. All those he controlled fell to their knees, holding hands to their heads. Milo could not help himself, he smiled. Victory.

The fiery ball of magma landed on his face and threw him backwards. His electrical barrier shedding away the harmful heat, but still some warmth penetrated. Carl, of course, stood opposite him seemingly unaffected by the mind cleanse. Milo drank from the blood deposits and extended both his palms forward. Two giant lightning bolts raced across the gap. The two bolts struck Carl’s magma barrier and crackled over him. Carl smiled. The lightning had done no damage to him.

Sam shoved him. “Together we can take him.”

Milo nodded. “Together.”

Sam’s multi barrel cannon spun up, spewing out laser beams. Carl showed no hesitation and rushed forward, the beams deflected by his barrier.

Milo closed his hands into fists, more tendrils came to life, he merged them together in an effort to create even more powerful lightning bolts. A stream of liquid fire impacted on his barrier, the protecting tendrils crackled as they shed off the heat. The streams ended as Carl crashed into Sam’s combat suit, they collapsed. An explosion of fire and molten rock, Milo shielded his eyes.

His friend was in trouble. Carl stood on top of the fallen combat suit, streams of liquid fire washing over Sam. Cooking him.

Milo extended his palms, two lightning bolts thundered forward. As last time, their impact barely moved Carl and the residual tendrils crackled harmless across his barrier. Milo shot another set of bolts, but with the same result.

Carl was too strong, too technical, too experienced. Not a surprise, the man must have trained his power for years. This was a losing fight.

Sam screamed.

No time for long range combat. Milo rushed forward. Hopefully his barrier would hold. He came close enough, he jumped. Tendrils arced the gap before they collided. He grabbed Carl, hugged tight and they stumbled across the floor. He tried to stay focused, but the heat scattered him.

The fiery punch came, was softened by his barrier, but ultimately landed on his chest. Another. Milo tried to push the incoming fists away, but he was too slow. He lost his balance and fell backwards. Streams of liquid fire sprayed on him, fizzling against the barrier.

A green oozing liquid landed on Carl’s back, but he paid it little attention.

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Milo managed to deflect Carl’s next punch and leaned into his own electrical punch. His hand burnt as it entered the barrier of molten rock, he pulled back and was met with another attack. They needed help.

Sam’s cannon came down and struck Carl on the head, the magma man side stepped and returned the favor with two streams of fire. The cannon spewed out laser beams. Carl threw something.

An explosion of fire on Sam, his cannon slowed down. No. No!

“Here!” Milo yelled and shot out lightning bolts. Carl turned. Sam’s combat suit was burnt and damaged, but Sam would not give up. Sam fired the acid spitting shotgun.

Milo ran. Harder than he had ever done before. Lightning crackled in his footsteps, the tendrils in his barrier curled faster. Get to the pod. His muscles burned by the strain. For a moment he thought another deposit became distinct in his mind, but there was no time, he shoved the thought away. The pod!

He fell to his knees by Beth’s pod. The red button. He reached for it, he smashed it.

…Milo’s confidence washed away. The blood deposit drained. His vision doubled, he felt weak. Feeble. Cold. Even in the presence of Carl’s burning body he was cold.

Beth, in all her metal skin, crashed into Carl. Milo rolled to the side, when had he fallen? He blinked, having difficulty seeing what was happening as Beth and Carl fought.

Someone grabbed him and pulled. A metal gauntlet.

“Come on!” Sam yelled. “Lets go!”

He shook his head, clearing his mind.

Beth landed a punch so hard that Carl was thrown back, but the magma man was on his feet again. Carl threw chunks of fiery magma at Beth. But she deflected the incoming projectiles with her hands and leapt forward again. They crashed into a roll of molten rock and metal skin. Punch after punch she landed on Carl’s fiery magma body, but they barely sunk into his barrier.

Sam opened fire with the spinning cannon attached to his rig, Milo felt every shock as its muzzles erupted so close to him. Sam did this and at the same time dragged him away from the battle. Milo raised his hands and searched for the blood again, but it was just gone. Also, the sweetness would not arrive on his command. His teeth shook, he was so cold.

Sam pulled him around the corner of a building, leaned him to the wall.

“Can you stand?” Sam asked. “What are we doing?”

Milo nodded. By keeping some of the weight towards the wall and Sam pulling on his shoulders he was able to stand. His legs shook, but the balance was there.

Sam leaned out from the corner and fired another volley of liquid energy. Milo squeezed his eyes shut, the light flashes from the cannon’s muzzles hurt.

People ran in every direction. They screamed both from fear and pain. One rolled on the floor, trying to put out the flames from his clothes. Another lay some distance away, frantically shaking as residual electrical tendrils rampaged him. A sick feeling grew in his stomach. What had he done? Milo wanted to puke.

Sam pulled at him. “The strong woman is keeping the magma man on the ropes. All this is unbelievable. We are taking advantage of it. We are escaping to the Final Sight before those combat suits come back to their senses or the magma man has finished her.”

“Beth. She doesn’t like being called Elizabeth,” Milo mumbled.

“Whatever. We leave her now, goddamnit!” Sam yelled. “Come on!”

“We are not leaving her behind,” Milo said.

Milo peeked around the corner. Beth landed a kick straight into a combat suit’s breastplate, the metal cracked and bent inwards, the combat suit flew backwards. She had killed his father. Milo swallowed. Even so he could not leave her behind. Their enemy was the same. He hated her, but he hated Saif more. A thick stream of magma struck Beth. She fell down. An explosion of molten rock and fire, and Beth flew through the marketplace’s open space. She landed just a few meters away and crawled around the building corner right opposite to them. The short stubble that had started to grow back on her shaved scalp was burnt off, her eyebrows were burnt off and several hand shaped scorch marks covered her body. Even thin rents in her metal skin still smoldered lightly.

Sam pulled at him, away from her. “Do you want to live or die? She will keep them busy while we escape.”

Milo stared at his friend with a raised hand, a thin tendril of electricity snaked around his hand and arm.

Sam stepped back with disbelief in his face. “Do not raise your hand at me.”

“We are not leaving her. We are spent. She is spent,” Milo said.

“Alright. I will detonate my rig,” Sam nodded. “This is my favorite.”

The combat suit’s back flaked and folded to the sides, Sam stepped out and detached the acid spewing shotgun from the left gauntlet. He input commands through his hand terminal and a brief moment later the rig stomped away. Towards Carl.

“It will go out in style,” Sam said, pulling him back safely around the corner.

An explosion of light and dust. The floor shook by the detonation.

In the confusion Beth came up to him, lifted him to her back and kept him there. “I will carry him. My name is Beth, I might be Milo’s brother. And you are? Where are we going? We need to move now. Before they regain their senses and dust settles.”

“Captain Samuels Adam. To my ship. Follow me,” Sam said.

“Affirmative, Captain Samuels,” Beth said.

Milo grunted quietly.