Corpies (Super Powereds Spinoff Book 1) (65 page)

Lifting his hand, Titan delicately tapped the side of his temple three times. “There’s a Super out in Kentucky with the power to manifest brain aneurisms. Never went Hero, since he didn’t think his power was suited to protecting people, but sometimes the DVA taps him to bring down especially dangerous or troublesome criminals. Temporarily Authorized Hero Asset, same exception they used for Hexcellent and Eli. I’ve got no resistance to that ability, and I’ve never been called on a case to fight anyone with similar powers. That’s how they’ll kill me, if I ever go rogue.”

“Holy Hell,” Aether whispered over the comms. “They told you about this? Just gave you the name of your executioner in case ever you stepped foot out of line?”

“Actually, Titan was the one who suggested we keep the aforementioned Super on retainer, just in case.” Dispatch was as calm as ever, slipping in only to correct a misassumption in the conversation and then going silent.

“Why would you do that?” Deadlift asked.

“Jeremiah, Gale, either of you want to field this one for me?” Titan asked.

“Because Heroes need to be aware of their mortality,” Gale replied. “For those of us like me and Deadlift, because it keeps us smart and safe in dangerous situations. For those like Titan and Jeremiah, it keeps them grounded, reminds them that even
their
actions have consequences.”

Deadlift stared at Titan with new eyes, though whether they were filled with respect or incredulity Titan didn’t have time to puzzle out. He merely turned back around and continued walking down the mysterious hallway, idly wondering if he’d have to fight another of those talking robots. He hoped not; there was something about destroying an opponent who could have conversations that left a bad taste in Titan’s mouth. AI was impossible, as far as the official records went, but that didn’t mean it would stay that way forever.

“As an aside, the DVA probably has assets that Titan isn’t aware of to tap, backups in case he decides to snuff out his failsafe in advance,” Jeremiah added. “I’ve poked around enough to know they’ve got contingency plans for me, and I’m nowhere near as dangerous as he is. Well, not as immediately dangerous, anyway. Given a little time and research, I can be a real bastard in my own right.”

“Yeah? Well, you need to get your bastard ass over to me,” Gale said. “I could be wrong, but I think I just found what we’re looking for.”

Before he’d even realized he was moving, Titan’s hands had already formed fists. All that destruction. All those people hurt or worse. If he was mad, then Gale must be outright murderous. They had to pray she’d found the computer rather than the Super, otherwise no one would be able to stop her if she decided to take revenge.

“Did you find the computer or the guy who built it?” Titan asked, unclenching his fists so that he could cross his fingers.

“Both, I think. It’s. . . well, it’s pretty damn weird if you want the truth.” The anger Titan had noticed in her earlier seemed to be ebbing, replaced with confusion. “I’d love some second opinions, especially from those of you who actually know something about tech.”

“Great idea, but how do we get to you?” Deadlift asked.

“Using the communicators for coordinates, I believe I can offer rudimentary directions to Gale’s location,” Dispatch offered. “I have been mapping the facility as your teams progressed, and there are several areas where I suspect paths intersect. In the event I am incorrect, the barriers between hallways would be easily overcome, be it by strength or intangibility.”

“Oh good, so I might have to punch through walls in an underground lair with who knows how much rock overhead. Nothing to worry about there.” Despite his grumbling, Titan trusted Dispatch’s judgment; there was really no other option as a Hero. And if Gale really had found something interesting, he wanted to get there as soon as possible.

“All right, Dispatch, tell us where to go.”

124.

“I’ll be honest; I don’t have the damnedest idea what I’m looking at here.” Titan didn’t particularly feel ashamed admitting that, both because he knew no one would be looking to him for technical expertise and because he had a solid hunch that he wasn’t the only baffled one in the group.

Getting to Gale had been relatively painless. Dispatch’s guesses were largely correct and Titan only had to punch carefully through one wall in order to keep him and Deadlift on the right path. Once they arrived, however, both strongmen immediately realized just how out of their depth they really were.

The contraption before them was massive, so tall it went halfway up the twenty-foot wall of this odd cavern, a mishmash of various electronics, lights, and devices that seemed to come from a half-dozen different technological periods. In the center was a modest-sized terminal with a dark screen directly adjacent to a large metal sphere with wires running all over the rest of the setup. It was the most striking point of the area in the first place, even without the corpse sitting in the chair.

“This is just a guess, mind you, but I’m going to say he’s been dead for at least months, probably years,” Aether announced. While Jeremiah was combing the wall of electronics, asking questions and getting unheard replies from the rest of his team, Aether had taken it upon herself to inspect the corpse hunched over in the chair. No one asked why she felt familiar enough with decomposing remains to inspect them, though most just chose to assume she had some medical background and leave it at that.

“No immediate wounds that I can see, which points toward natural causes, an internal attack like poison, or another Super. This place doesn’t have any signs of a struggle, but with how much work has been done, that doesn’t tell us anything for sure. We’ll need an autopsy to get solid information, but based on pure speculation, my guess would be that this guy sat down to do some work and then fell over dead midway through. Could be the ticker, or the noggin, or any other number of things, but something gave out on him.”

“You can tell that’s a guy?” Deadlift asked; the parts of his face that were visible under his mask had paled noticeably as Aether looked over the corpse.

“Geez, it’s like none of you bothered to take a biology class. Yeah, I can tell it’s a guy. You want me to go into how?” Aether replied.

Deadlift shook his head adamantly to the negative. Aether didn’t push the issue, which Titan appreciated. There was already so little of his costume left, the last thing he wanted was to get the remainder sprayed with vomit if Deadlift lost his stomach.

Fortunately, the line of discussion quickly fell through as Jeremiah clapped his hands from over by the console.

“All right, people, based on what my team can tell me through the comms, though we absolutely need to have a tech-Super come check this out, all accounts point to us having found the heart of the operation. This is the thing that’s sending the signals, and most likely remotely handling all the mining and robot construction.”

“Then let’s tear it apart.” Gale summoned the beginnings of a tornado so quickly that the end of her sentence was muffled.

Jeremiah repositioned himself quickly between the terminal and Gale, a move Titan would have deemed brave if he didn’t know Jeremiah could heal from whatever wounds she inflicted.

“Yes, yes we could do that. Or we could just work on disconnecting it from all the remote operations until someone with tech-based abilities can come study it,” Jeremiah suggested. “As horrible as the robot attacks were, this still represents a marvel of technology. Look at the things it’s been creating, adapting, and improving, all without human interference. Hell, not half an hour ago it made a talking robot designed specifically to neutralize Titan, just based on the battles we had today. That is some astounding work, even more so now that we know there was no human behind the wheel.”

“All the better reason to destroy it now before it builds a threat we can’t handle.” Gale hadn’t dismissed her wind, a fact that escaped none of their attention. “Smart or not, this thing has been trying to wipe out us, and Brewster as a whole, for months.”

Titan was moving before he’d even realized it, Gale’s words stirring the memory of Hexcellent’s theory. The truth of the matter was, he agreed with Gale. Maybe this thing was a technological marvel unlike anything the world had ever seen, but it was also dangerous. He’d been forced to bring down fellow humans who’d managed far less damage; a machine didn’t get a pass for the carnage in its wake. Unless. . . it didn’t know any better.

Before anyone could object, which they certainly would have, Titan moved the corpse away from the terminal, leaned over the ergonomic keyboard, and punched the space bar. For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the dark screen began to flicker to life. At first, Titan didn’t know what he was looking at; he’d never had much interest in the digital realm. Bit by bit, though, he puzzled together what he was seeing, and as it all clicked he shook his head in disbelief.

“I’ll be damned. Hexcellent was right.” Looking over his shoulder, he motioned for the others to come see the screen for themselves. “It’s a game. A timed strategy or whatever. The map looks like Brewster, too. I think our dead programmer was playing it when he died, maybe trying to train the computer to do exactly what it did. Probably part one in a nefarious scheme where the rest was never hatched.”

The rest of the group approached, taking in the display for themselves. It was all there, measured in bars and numbers that meant nothing to Titan. But some things were unmistakable: the map of Brewster, the six locations where the mechs had been deployed, even the little dots tracking the remaining Heroes that were helping secure damaged areas.

“Weird as this is, and I am definitely not saying it isn’t strange, I don’t see how it changes things,” Gale told them. “This computer is still bent on wiping out our town. I say we carve it up now before it has a chance.”

“Gale, with all respect, do you have any idea what we’re looking at here?” Jeremiah asked. “This thing created its own troops, researched classified technology and stole it to improve them, adapted its designs and strategies based on how we reacted. . . it
learned
. I’m not the guy to say if something is or isn’t artificial intelligence, but this has got to be the closest we’ve ever come as a species to creating it. You’re talking about destroying one of the most incredible scientific achievements in history because some asshole left his game running.”

“We’ve seen what it can do on accident. You really want to give someone the chance to use this thing on purpose?” Gale countered. “It’s too strong, too dangerous. We have to destroy it now.”

“You know, that’s what a lot of humans said about Supers when they first learned about us.” Aether’s voice was quiet, yet strong enough to carry through the whole cavern. “Something having the potential to be dangerous isn’t a good reason to kill it.”

“It’s not alive,” Gale shot back.

“Are you sure? I mean, really sure? I heard the robot Titan fought, and it sounded pretty aware of what was going on. Misinformed, yes, but aware,” Deadlift told her. “I’m not saying you’re wrong. In fact, I’m on your side, Gale. This thing nearly murdered me and my team with its robots, and it wrecked my town. It deserves to be killed. I’m just making sure we all acknowledge that that’s what we’re talking about. Killing.”

“Machines aren’t alive.” Gale didn’t sound as sure as she had moments prior, but she still refused to back down from her point.

“Two in favor of wrecking it here and now, two against,” Jeremiah summarized. “Titan, it looks like you’re the deciding vote.”

Slowly, Titan walked from the terminal over to the dense metal sphere. Even if he knew almost nothing about high-tech electronics, he’d set up enough lights and media centers in his day to understand that the device all the wires ran to was the most important part. It was the heart, or maybe the brain. Regardless, he was pretty sure that if he smashed it to pieces, that would be the end of their problems. Titan raised his hand over the device, only a few inches from the dark polished surface. It wouldn’t take much, one good blow and it would all be over.

“I think,” Titan said, slowly lowering his arm until his fingers rested against the smooth metal. “That everyone deserves a second chance. Potential artificial life included.”

Epilogue

The restoration of Brewster would not be a quick process. Though the Heroes had performed admirably, containing the robotic threats and responding to unexpected challenges with speed and efficiency, the fact still remained that entire city blocks were rendered unlivable amidst the destruction. Within days, the DVA had set up temporary housing areas for those thrust from their homes. In a week, they’d brokered a deal between insurance companies and local hotels to get those impacted somewhere more stable. The first time a city was partially destroyed was a complete clusterfuck as everyone ran around, trying to figure out what to do. Nowadays, however, the DVA had the process down pat.

Not that their sole concern was taking care of the humans impacted by the disaster. One by one, every Hero in a command position at the scene was brought in for debriefing. While things could have been worse, it didn’t change the fact that people had still died and millions of dollars in property damage had occurred. That was the sort of aftermath the DVA couldn’t afford to shrug off and accept, meaning they went through the scenario with a fine-toothed comb, making certain that no Hero had acted rashly or used excessive force that might have exacerbated an already bad situation.