A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 53

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 53

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Arksoul

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Yep.

Killing people ain’t for me, even if the results was a giant, dead biomechanical body, it still gave me the stomach turning sensation that I knew would just stay for weeks.

Unfortunately, I knew that I had to do something about that sensation, before it turned into something worse… and that it was going to cost me.

Maelstrom landed nearby, while Shin’s flying war machines were disabled and pulled outside of the ruins of the city.

She eyed the me-sized hole in the nape of the massive titan, but thankfully didn’t ask any questions.

Wasn’t in the mood to show off powers at the moment.

“I’m going on a long break. No combat, and half the trips I promised you. Don’t worry, I’ll double the time to compensate.” I’ve killed people before and it’s never ended well. It made me jittery, gave me nightmares, and the shakes. Some people had the stomach for killing. I didn’t. Maiming and permanently injuring and even putting people in very dangerous situations? Yeah, that wasn’t an issue for me. Actually using myself as a metaphysical woodchipper against people? That fucked with my head. “If you have a therapist, I’d appreciate their contact information, too."

Maelstrom nodded, before crossing her arms and floating closer.

It’s a testament to my nerves after killing that I thought the girl scout was going to snap my neck.

“There are two in my current territory. Both are booked, but I’ll put a word in for them to make time for you. You’ll have to foot the overtime bill.”

“Gladly. I need to work through this for at least a couple of months.” I shook my head. Knowing I was going to have someone professional to talk about this was going to help me out a lot. With that in mind, I shook my head, stood up, and woke myself up with a stretch. “Alright, I can explain myself. The Shogun turned women into biomechanical machines meant to birth armies of superhumans, and this ‘divine’ body he’s made… it’s an altered person. Some sort of mix of Superhuman genes that they’ve grown out and planned to grow out in massive vats. This one got lobotomized and had its brain copied over with the Shogun’s.”

Maelstrom’s calm features, which graced dozens of magazines back when the world was somewhat sane, grew clouded and dark as she continued to stare at the massive body. She’d killed before. Hell, you could say the previous world order ended because she started killing when she found out the truth and decided to really fight injustice. Still, I’d been making preparations to enter my bunker than, and when shit went down I’d finished covering up the blast doors from the outside and securing my location as completely as I could.

So, I’d never seen the face Maelstrom made when she planned to kill someone.

I had to admit.

The furrowed brow, narrowed eyes, and gritted teeth, while her bangs cast most of her upper face in shadow… made her look more human than her usual veneer allowed.

I would’ve laughed, if I hadn’t just killed someone.

I’d probably puke if I did.

Dammit, there’ll be time to mope later.

“All the child soldiers and civilians are in Parvati’s hands. The… mothers are also under her care now. I extracted the whole vehicle, after going through it for any self-destruct sequences. Hopefully, those women can get another shot.” With Parvati’s tech, and the AI’s ability to keep people alive in Gynoid bodies like it did with Shiva, those women might be able to get their bodies reconstructed… or just get transferred to new ones. Though I usually considered the mind sacred, I had to ask another question from Maelstrom. “Is Erasure still alive? He could probably get some decent work helping these women out, if they want.”

“He is and he’s hard at work.” Maelstrom answered, and I sighed in relief. Erasure was one of the oldest superhumans and he offered his work for a reasonable price. He was a certified physician and psychologist, and he had the ability do as his name suggested: erase specific memories from the mind. He’d worked against PTSD victims a lot, and did a lot of pro-bono work. One of the few guys out there I actually respected, though I’d respect him more if he charged the rich more, and didn’t offer them the same charity. “I’ll speak with him, as well.”

That was my report over the last couple hours of fighting, and I was ready to get out, take a shower, and do something, anything, to get what I experienced out of my head.

Then, Maelstrom.

No.

Kaede Walker spoke to me.

“My home is open, if you want someone to speak to or just spend time with. I… I don’t find it as difficult to kill as you do, when I find the cause just, but I hope that I can help you.” I looked her way and found nothing but the determination to do what was right. She just told me that she’s the sort of gal who’d kill without hesitation if she thought it was the right thing to do, too. Normally, that would be a red flag, but for some reason it made me believe her even more. Even though she couldn’t understand from her own perspective, she was willing to help because she was trying to see things from my perspective. As much of a bastard as I was, I couldn’t spit in her face and refuse. “Oh? You accept?”

I really need to work on hiding my surprise better, if Walker could figure me out via body language.

Years spent alone has made me more expressive, I guess.

“Yeah. I’ll take you up on that. Never went through this alone.” I’d had people who I associated with regularly before humanity fucked itself over. Preppers, some superhuman and some not, that were varying degrees of paranoid, crazy, and psychotic. We were, all of us, scattered across the world without any intention of coming out of our bunkers, unless some pressing need arose, and cutting off communications ensured we wouldn’t get tracked down. We didn’t share locations with each other either. We were related to one another through a shared concern, and we were all interested in keeping ourselves alive. Dealing with trauma was essential to surviving in an apocalypse, so we helped each other and learned. “Let’s say two days from now. I’ll take up one of your guest bedrooms, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t.” Kaede nodded at me, and for a second, I wondered if I could talk to her just like my old colleagues in the prepper business. In the end, though, she employed me and we were looking out for each other in other ways… and she wasn’t the kind of person that lived a quiet life. She’s a good and honest person at heart with a strong moral compass. That meant, in the world we now lived in, she was going to get in lots of trouble. Trouble that I wasn’t committed to being a part of, so it was best to just stay associated. “You’re welcome to my home, Egress. I consider you a good friend.”

“Thanks.”

I couldn’t do the same for her, and she knew that, but in the end she stayed by my side.
Yeah.

Definitely too good of a person.

…

Parvati arrived after half-a-hour or so with its Deva in tow.

Somewhere since I last left the Deva, she seemed to ‘power’ off whatever combat systems it had running. Why did I call it she? Because I saw the blueprints of the construct I’d sent off to deep space. The Deva was a hybrid between machine and superhuman flesh, and the machine part was organic in its own way. Parvati, the AI, had created a living, thinking, and feeling person… and was surprisingly handling the situation with more care than I thought, as it respected the Deva’s boundaries.

Anyway, the Deva went from a ten-foot-tall, blue-skinned titan with blue skin and flames as clothes to a seven-foot-or-so lady with skin like milk, terrifying red eyes, and platinum hair… wearing flames as clothes.

I pulled some clothes out of one my spare warehouses and chucked it her way.

It burned up.

“I will not have my visage sullied by such ill-fitting clothing.”

“Then, I’ll be censoring you.” I grunted and just summoned up several fields around her. Now, she was surrounded by blurry, opaque panes that obscured everything below the neck. Yeah, I’m not dealing with her. That’s Parvati’s problem. Glare at me all you want. You’re already blurry-image’d. Not dealing with how nudity and age work with cyborgs designed to be gods built over the course over a few months, regardless of ‘mental maturity.’ Blegh. “Parvati, tell me everything’s okay. I’m already mentally out of here.”

“Those evacuated from the location are faring well. I have ensured family units are together and all are attended to by a staff of my units. They are all fed, cared for, and will be ready to return once you are able.”

I discerned the question behind that.

“Give me a week. No. Three days. I can help people after I help myself a bit.” My plan was some crackers, seltzer, and lots of high-speed, mind-energy guzzling games. Need to overwork and tire out the brain with them, so that I fall asleep thinking bout playing them, instead of what I did and what I saw today. I’d done a bit of research on avoiding mental trauma, and this worked out for me more than once. Mass graves and breeding camps stick a whole lot less when you end the day playing fifty levels of high-speed tetris. Don’t ask me how it works, I just know it works for me and helps stop nightmares. “Can you hold them for that wrong?”

“I can, though it will be easier with the fact that I can tell them that they will be returned to their homes after the battle is over.” Parvati bobbed up and down in its quadrotor drone form. As we spoke, I became aware of the silence in the area. No more constant breaking of buildings, firepower raining from the sky, and massive monsters being launched around my Maelstrom’s fists. If not for the wrecked city around us, teaming with Parvati’s units stopping fires and clearing wrecks, the day would almost seem normal. “Ah. I have located Shin. Should I bring him here, or just contain him?”

I made first contact with him, but I looked Maelstrom’s way.

“Bring him here. I would like to speak with him, before the remains of the Japanese government arrive.” Speaking of them, Nori’s sub was in the bay and clones of the superhuman genius were clearing the way with the help of the mech that they brought out to join the fight. I made my little eye in the sky go away once I noticed them making their way here. I was tempted to use my power and bring them over, but couldn’t muster up the willpower. Not up for using it right now. I felt burnt out mentally and physically, so straining myself now would just be foolish. “Keep an air gap between you and himself, Parvati. Do not test him. He is one of the fiercest of Japan’s Talents.”

Parvati seemed taken aback by the statement but bobbed up and down in response.

“I’ll keep that in mind, subject: Maelstrom. I appreciate the warning.”

Guess the AI overlooked the possible threat posed by an intellect like Shin, who was capable of commanding three massive drone factories, the armies those massive machines produced, provide support fire from those factories, and fly them all at once practically on his own.

Yeah, the guy’s wasn’t someone I wanted to have access to Parvati’s inner systems.

While those two were talking, however, there was the issue of the Deva that Parvati created coming towards me.

Why are all the women I meet somewhat crazy and super-powerful? Well, I guess the apocalypse took out most of the normal people, and my line of work doesn’t exactly make many opportunities for a regular gal to come around. Huh. Guess, I need to find other venues to spend time in, rather than blame people for being themselves.

“I have decided on a name, Egress. You will address me as Advika, as I am me and no one else. All others who have taken the name before shall be a pale shadow compared to I, and all those who take it after shall never compare to me.” Big words, but she had the power and brain and the innate ‘talent’ to pull it off. Sorry, everyone else with Advika as a name, but you really can’t compete with someone who can bench-press a frigate and throw miniature around, let alone all that and a brain that puts most supercomputers to shame. “Now, I shall have your name. Grant it to me.”

Straightforward as demands go, but I wasn’t going to bite.

“Don’t recall telling you my real name. You get Egress like everyone else here.” There wasn’t much connected to my old name, but I wasn’t going to let my personal life touch my professional life more than it already did. My actual name, my face, and my home were all things that I wasn’t going to allow to spill over into this one. “There’s too many threats that I might face, too many paper trails that might be found, that I don’t want being found. You get me? I’m Egress to you, especially if you want my help or to work for you.”

Advika glared down at me with a sneer splitting across a lovingly sculpted face that most models would kill for. I was more focused on the woman’s ability to throw nuclear fusion projectiles at her enemies, but I guess some guys would be distracted by the face alone. Thankfully, I’m too traumatized to be distracted.

I decided to pop over to another rock in everyone’s general vicinity, and earned myself another glare from the Deva, but paid her no mind.

Nori and her crew of clones arrived at the same time Parvati’s assault units came hefting Shin’s… massive computational unit. The massive construct encased in two shipping containers welded together and with several jamming devices on them was the size of an average suburban garage, heavily armored, and probably contained everything Shin needed to survive. There were signs of means of locomotion on the undercarriage, but they were nowhere to be found now, probably ripped off while he was being captured.

Anyway, Maelstrom’s plan to talk to Shin without Nori present was shot, so things were going to get spicy.

Maelstrom, most likely, wanted Shin helping over in the states.

And, Nori’s people, if I recalled correctly… wanted him dead.