Emily Wilson
Stories
6
Chapters
1,139
Words
357.3 K
Comments
0
Reading
1 d, 5 h
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One of Rachel’s dogs growled, long and loud, an alien, unsure sound. She shushed it, setting her hand on the side of its head. “Ugh,” Cozen mumbled, “The smell.” The smell. Summer heat, the mingled scent of blood, shit and overripe bodies, with traces of other things in the wind. Caustic chemicals, ozone, smoke, burned flesh and plastic. It wasn’t unfamiliar. Not an exact combination of smells I’d smelled before, but it put me in mind of Brockton Bay in the days soon after Leviathan had…-
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“. “Pretentious, isn’t he?” Jack asked. He was naked, covering himself with both hands, sitting on a metal bench with more brushed stainless steel behind him. With the angle of the device, he faced the ceiling. “Likes to hear himself talk,” Bonesaw replied, agreeing. “Which do you think it’ll be? Change for the better or change for the worse?” Jack only smiled, his eyes crinkling a bit at the edges. He was getting older. It was reassuring and spooky at the same time. But it meant he…
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Khonsu allowed himself to be struck by Alexandria, using the impact to float back at a higher speed. The act gave him the positioning he needed to draw his spheres closer to the Jaguars’ contingent. A lack of coordination, a simple error, and ten capes were caught, to be killed in moments. Moments they experienced as weeks, months and years. Some had brought food and water. I almost pitied those capes. She didn’t wear armor. Her top was a simple t-shirt with the sleeves removed and bottom half cut…
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Three days. Nearly three days and we hadn’t managed to kill him. A new target every thirty minutes, give or take. Ten to twenty minutes for the defending forces to get their shit together. The remainder of that time was our capes trying to hurt him. Chipping away at him. Sometimes we made headway. Sometimes he crushed the bulk of the defending forces and then stood still, drawing those rotating columns of altered time to himself. Not He hit major cities and small ones. Villages, even, when he…
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You got me. “ I seriously debated pressing nine. I I hit one instead. “ “It’s Weaver, I… I don’t know who else to call.” I wasn’t coherent, which was unusual, considering how I could normally keep myself together in a crisis. “ “I’m not sure I have a second,” I said. There was no response. He wasn’t on the line. “Oh man,” Golem said. “I’m… oh fuck.” Quite possibly the only person who was as concerned as I was. “ “I didn’t get a chance,” I said. I…
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Wind stirred the snow that had piled up at the rooftop’s edge. As it entered the space over the Chicago street, city lights caught the flurry and made it almost luminescent, whirling clouds in intense, intricate patterns. I was, in other words, bored beyond comprehension. Stakeouts? Not nearly as interesting as they were in the movies. Not even as interesting as they were in the TV shows where nothing happened and the cops complained about how dull things were. No, this was a A boring, even, where I…
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“Sorry… I’m… so…” He didn’t finish the sentence. I could sense him slowing, using the bugs I’d planted on his costume. I stopped and waited for him. “It’s fine, Theo. You’re doing me a favor.” “Doesn’t feel like it,” he said. He bent down, hands on his knees. I waited for him to get his breath. “I might throw up,” he added. I backed away a step. “Just getting the chance to run, it’s cool. Not many others are willing to meet me at seven to run, much less six…
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“This is exactly what I was talking about. She’s a dangerous influence.” “She’s a sixteen year old girl with strong opinions, Wilkins,” Armstrong answered. “Nothing more. She holds onto those opinions and her core worldview, and vulnerable people get caught up in her momentum. Cult leaders will do the same thing, only it’s “You’re saying she’s an accidental cult leader?” “She’s in a position where it’s very easy to sway others. A lot of the parahumans out there fit the…
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“Well bandaged. They did a good job,” the doctor had to raise her voice to be heard over the helicopter’s rotors. She was older, blond to the point that it was hard to distinguish if her hair was still blond or graying, her expression creased in concern. Wanton nodded mutely. “What happened?” the doctor asked him. “Falling debris,” Tecton offered, from the other side of the helicopter. The doctor nodded. “We’ll leave it as it is. The pain’s okay?” “Meds help,” Wanton said.…
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Hero ushered him into the headquarters. “This is the last one. I’d like you all to meet Chevalier.” There was a chorus of replies. Mumbled greetings with one Chevalier ventured inside, a touch hesitant. Not His eyes roved over the group. Five girls, four boys. His addition made it an even split. Intentional? The costumes ran the gamut from professional to homemade. They varied in the degree of color, in seriousness, in combat readiness. There was a boy, also, who had a professional looking…
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