Mom, I'm Bulletproof

Chapter 19.4: Much Resistance

Amy heard more popping noises come from the sub. Another six missiles shot out of the water alongside the sub. Amy flew at the nearest one, twisting her body to hit it shoulder first. It exploded in another cloud of heat and smoke.

Unfazed, Amy pressed forward and threw herself in front of the second missile in the same way. The third one raced past her and struck the Accretion. The Ergosphere's ship still looked unharmed, but Amy knew that missiles exploding against it couldn't be good.

"I got all three of mine," Future Girl said, flying up to Amy.

"We can't keep this up," Amy said. "This sub has to be stopped."

"It awfully big," Future Girl said. "Do you know anything about submarines?"

"Don't need to," Amy said. "We punch our way inside and trash the place."

"That's your plan? Mass destruction?" Future Girl thought for a second. "Yeah, I guess I can do mass destruction."

"See if you can find Proscenium," Amy said. "I bet he can get inside. I'll do what I can about the missiles."

Future Girl nodded and flew off.

Hovering in midair, Amy turned her attention to the sub. She saw no obvious hatches along its body, except for the protruding tower, which rose up higher than the rest of the sub. Based on movies she had seen, Amy knew this would be the most likely way inside. She flew toward it.

More popping sounds came from below her, as six more missiles shot out of the sides of the sub. Amy spun around, determined to stop as many as possible before they hit the Accretion.

Then, she heard a familiar voice.

"Come get me!" Dreamsmith shouted. He flew past, right in the path of all six missiles. "Yeah, come on!"

"Dreamsmith!" Amy called. "Sam!"

Before she could react, Dreamsmith flew off to the side, away from both the submarine and the Accretion, and the missiles followed him.

"Please be careful," she whispered.

Future Girl became another yellow and purple blur as she flew toward the sub. Amy saw Proscenium's purple cloud swirling around the sub's main tower. Amy followed Future Girl, hoping Dreamsmith wasn't leading those missiles to his death.

Amy saw the purple smoke grow smaller.

"He's getting through," Future Girl said. "So much for air-tight."

Amy watched as the purple cloud seemed to fade into nothingness around the tower. She knew this meant Proscenium found a way inside and was flowing into the structure in his cloud form.

Amy braced herself for another missile launch, but it didn't happen. She glanced around the horizon for any sign of Dreamsmith but didn't see him. She saw no sign of the Ergosphere either.

With a clank, the large metal hatch opened on the top of the tower. Its exterior was made of shining gold metal, but its interior was a cold, grey, lead-like metal.

Proscenium's hooded frowning mask popped up from inside.

"There is much resistance inside," he said.

"No problem," Amy said, flying and landing on the tower. She saw the opening led to a ladder leading below, Proscenium had vanished again, leading Amy to assume he'd already gone below. The hatch was a tight fit, so she went ahead and climbed down the ladder, knowing Future Girl was right behind her, ready to do the same.

Amy found herself in a long, cramped hallway, the gleaming gold of the outside of the sub's exterior having been replaced by a dark grey metal interior. Proscenium's bulky frame blocked one end of the corridor almost entirely.

"Fire!" a voice shouted. Amy turned toward the open end of the hallway and stood in her best hero pose.

From the far end of the corridor, shadowed in the dark, machine guns went off, muzzle flashes barely visible in the dark.

Amy stayed motionless as the bullets bounced off her, ricocheting all around the hallway, creating bits of sparks and smoke along the walls around her.

She flew straight down the corridor, into the dark. There were more muzzle flashes and bullets, which still bounced off her. She slammed into three temple agents, garbed as always in their red robes, each holding a machine gun. After knocking all three off their feet, Amy grabbed all three guns and ripped them apart.

"Praise... the Temple," one guard whimpered. Amy gave him a good swift kick to his face. Satisfied that all three were unconscious, Amy flew to Proscenium and Future Girl, who were now at the bottom of the ladder.

"Where?" Proscenium asked.

"We fight our way through this ship until we find the engine and take it out."

"Why bother?" Future Girl said. "I'm going to go straight down until I hit water."

Future Girl knelt down and drove her fist into the floor, ripping it open and pressing downward through the pipes and wires underneath. She punched downward again, this time breaking through to the floor below, with light shining up from above.

"See ya," Future Girl said, dropping through her self-made hole. Amy heard another round of gunfire from the level below, which was promptly silenced.

Proscenium examined the hole. "There will be water-tight compartments to prevent sinking."

"Let her go," Amy said. "She'll draw their attention away from us. We have to find the engine room and shut this place down. We also have to find whoever's in charge."

"I will forge ahead," Proscenium said. "This is not my first time aboard a submarine."

"This... what?"

"There is a series of underground rivers deep beneath Theater City. Fourteen years ago, the city was invaded by..."

"I'll take your word for it," Amy said. "Dreamsmith is out there getting shot at. We have to move fast. You go that way, I'll go this way."

"I trust you." With that, he turned into a cloud and floatedquickly down his end of the corridor, disappearing out of sight.

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Next: Intruders.