Mom, I'm Bulletproof

Chapter 19.3: Against the Submarine

The small talk was awkward aboard the Accretion during the flight out to the Atlantic, but Amy didn't mind. She sat and smiled as her team of heroes interacted.

"How do you turn into a cloud, exactly?" Future Girl asked Proscenium. "Is it nanotech or..."

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Future Girl blinked. "What?"

"It's a line from Hamlet," Dreamsmith said. "You know, Shakespeare?"

"I know Shakespeare," Future Girl said. "Just because I like science, that doesn't mean I can't like other things."

While Dreamsmith and Future Girl bickered playfully about their educations, the Ergosphere snuck up next to Amy and whispered to her, "Just so you know, I've prepared a little backup plan for the five of us. I'll listen for your word, in case you think we need it."

"But you won't tell me what this plan is exactly, because you're the type of guy who likes to act all mysterious."

"Keen observations like that are why you're our fearless leader." He started to say something else, stopped himself, and instead said, "I'm glad to be here. Thank you for welcoming me."

He and Amy shook hands.

The Ergosphere provided some snacks – cheese and crackers – which everyone but Proscenium tried. Proscenium stood silently in one corner of the room, watching the others. When Future Girl mentioned having her own sidekick, Amy worried that might bring back memories of Proscenium's student who was killed. He didn't mention it.

* * * *

After another 30 minutes of polite but awkward socializing, the Ergosphere announced that they had arrived at the Temple's coordinates.

The Ergosphere led the other four down to the Accretion's central section, in a hallway between a bedroom and the ship's kitchen. There, a hatch slid open above them and a ladder lowered. All five of them either climbed or flew outside, until they all stood on the roof of the ship.

The Accretion hovered in the air over the Atlantic. In every direction, dark blue water contrasted against the light blue cloudless sky, the two hues meeting at the thin line of the horizon.

Although Amy had flown across the ocean before, Future Girl's jetstream amplifiers had her going so fast that she never had a chance to truly enjoy the expansiveness of it.

"This really is the middle of nowhere," Amy said.

"We're here," the Ergosphere said to Amy. "It's your show."

Amy nodded. "Does this ship have, like, sensors and stuff?"

"No need," Proscenium said. "The Temple knows we are here. The Temple's agents have been watching us for some time."

"You think they split because they knew we were coming?" Amy said.

"Are the five of us really that big of a threat?" Dreamsmith said. "They're probably just hiding. That's what they do, right?"

Future Girl rolled her eyes. "This sure is some thrilling superhero action."

"How about some reconnaissance?" Amy said.

"Now we're talking." Future Girl flew straight forward, then downward, disappearing under the Accretion.

"She's fast," the Ergosphere said.

"She is not faster than me," Amy said.

The Ergosphere shrugged. "I didn't say that."

"I feel something," Proscenium said. The others waited for him to follow up on that, but instead he just stood there, motionless.

"What?" Amy said. "What do you feel?"

Proscenium held up a finger, silencing her.

"You know," Dreamsmith said to Amy, "last night a dreamed I was flying."

"And you think..."

"I haven't had a chance to try it, but..."

A loud crack burst in the air all around them, causing Amy, Dreamsmith and the Ergosphere to cover their ears.

Future Girl flew up to the ship.

"Oh, come on," Amy said. "Don't tell me you just broke the sound barrier."

"Missiles!" Future Girl said.

"What?" Dreamsmith said.

Amy's eyes darted from Dreamsmith to Proscenium to the Ergosphere. She made her decision. She grabbed a hold of Dreamsmith and lifted him off his feet.

"You'll be all right," she said to him. "This is how I learned to fly." She threw him over the side of the ship.

Amy then flew right at the Ergosphere, grabbed hold of him, and carried him with her into the air away from the ship.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked.

Amy felt heat burst behind her as smoke and fire exploded all around the ship with a series of deafening blasts.

"Let me go," the Ergosphere said.

"Your ship..."

"Is tougher than it looks. Drop me."

"But..."

"I spend a whole day meditating. In that time, I remodeled ten of my villager's homes. To show their thanks, they've made me a very, very good swimmer. Now drop me."

"When this is over, we're going to have a long talk about how your powers work," Amy said. She loosened her grip on him and he fell through her arms, falling toward the water far below them.

She spun to face the ship. A second round of explosions filled the air around the ship, lighting the blue sky with orange flames and then darkening it with black smoke.

Future Girl flew up next to Amy. "Submarine."

"Where?" Amy said.

"There!" Future Girl pointed downward, behind Amy. She swung around and saw it – a long sliver of golden metal, rising out of the ocean. Amy flew straight at it, confident that Future Girl would follow. As she sped closer, she saw that it was indeed a full-size submarine, as far as she knew, except gleaming bright gold.

A series of popping noises came from the sides of the sub, followed seconds later by six missiles, three from each side of it, bursting out of the water around it.

Amy flew to the right, knowing Future Girl would see this and fly to the left.

Amy had never deflected a missile before, but assumed it couldn't be too hard. She flew at the nearest one as it raced through the air toward the Accretion. It was just barely out of reach, but she managed to give it a good, hard kick.

As expected, the missile spun sideways, off its course. What Any didn't expect was how it wandered right into the path of the second missile. Amy covered her eyes as the two of them exploded in another mass of fire, smoke and debris right in front of her.

She turned around and flew away from the blast, only to see the third missile hit the Accretion in another mass of fire and smoke.

Amy saw three small black clouds where Future Girl had flown. Amyfrowned at the thought of Future Girl flying fast enough to get all three.  

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Next: Resistance.