I crouched in the darkness outside the Grunter warehouse.

It had been more than a week since I’d received the quests. My time counter showed 173 days to discovery.

Time to extend that.

My new nanofibre weave armour fit like a glove. I had gotten a new sledgehammer, too.

And in place of a nailgun I had my brand-new Standard Laser Rifle.

Finding the warehouse had been the harder part. It had taken some digging, and following a couple of Grunters in my civilian guise to get close enough to identify it.

How did I know they were Grunters? Why, good ol’ Observe, of course.

The warehouse itself yielded up its secrets under the gaze of that skill:

GRUNTER DRUG WAREHOUSE

10,000 / 10,000 HP

USED TO STORE METH, CRACK, AND COCAINE AS IT IS DISTRIBUTED DOWNSTREAM, THIS LOCATION IS CRITICAL TO GRUNTER OPERATIONS. A BASEMENT LAB ALSO PRODUCES A STEADY SUPPLY OF THE DRUGS.

DESTROYING IT WILL SERIOUSLY HURT THE GANG.

DEFENDERS: 8.

It was my first time seeing HP on a building. I supposed it meant I could - in theory - destroy the building, although it would take a while.

The ‘Defenders’ number was a surprise, though. I suspected it might be due to my higher Perception.

Time to get moving.

A bored guard stood outside, scanning the area with a lit cigarette. He carried an assault rifle - no lasers here - and Observe showed him at 110 HP.

It was a matter of seconds to sneak up behind him and hit him with the sledgehammer.

As he crumpled, I followed up with a Knockout Blow.

DEFENDERS: 7.

I carefully opened the door and crept in. The sounds of laughter reached me.

Three men were seated at a table, playing a round of cards. More assault rifles lay by the side of their chairs, along with bottles of booze.

I pulled out my newest weapon.

The Stun Grenade lived up to its name. In less than a second, two of the men were on the floor, unconscious. The third, dazed, reached for his rifle, but I was there with a Bodycharge and following it with a sledgehammer blow.

The man fell backwards. Another Knockout Blow had him out cold.

DEFENDERS: 4.

Four down, nobody dead yet. Better track record than before.

I darted forward, scanning the area.

The shelves were stacked. Meth. Cocaine. Heroin. Observe threw up drug after drug.

"Hey!" A voice yelled.

I whirled around.

Two men. With assault rifles.

They saw me and opened fire.

Bullets whanged off the shelves. I swung behind a bunch of sandbags.

As it turned out, they were meth bags.

Clouds of meth dust filled the air.

I grabbed my laser rifle and fired back.

Little tip about meth dust?

It's flammable.

The explosion knocked me - and the others - back.

DAMAGE TAKEN! -59 ARMOR POINTS.

I lurched back on my feet. Fire was spreading through the warehouse.

The two men were on the ground.

Crap.

A laser bolt smashed into the shelf next to me.

I dodged left. A quick glance showed me the assailant - an armoured Grunter Soldier.

I fired back with Sniper Shot.

The bolt crashed into the Grunter, who staggered back.

GRUNTER SOLDIER -40 HP!

I followed it up with Lightning Strike.

GRUNTER SOLDIER -30 HP!

Lightning Strike, Lightning Strike again!

GRUNTER SOLDIER -30 HP! GRUNTER SOLDIER -30 HP!

I launched myself forward, firing as I went.

The armoured man kept staggering back as the lightning slammed into him.

My MP fell, but his health fell faster.

GRUNTER SOLDIER -30 HP!

I was within range of him now. I used Bodycharge to close the gap.

GRUNTER SOLDIER -44 HP!

The impact knocked the man down. I smashed downwards with my hammer.

CRITICAL HIT! GRUNTER SOLDIER -106 HP!

GRUNTER SOLDIER DEFEATED! + 200 XP.

BLUNT WEAPONS HAS LEVELED UP! LEVEL 2: +20% DAMAGE.

….. So much for my no deaths plan.

DEFENDERS : 1.

GRUNTER WAREHOUSE IS ON FIRE! -80 HP PER SECOND. TIME TO COLLAPSE: 00:02:05.

I could see fires spreading across the warehouse at incredible speed.

Figures. Two minutes before the place collapses….

The two men I'd been fighting earlier were most certainly dead. I raced to where the three unconscious gamblers were lying.

A kid was standing there, trying to pull them to safety. He saw me and paled.

He dropped his rifle and raised his hands.

I took a good look at him.

WALLIE SIMS

PROBATIONARY GRUNTER GUARD

LEVEL 2

HP 80/80

CONDITION: TERRIFIED

WALLIE SIMS IS A 19-YEAR-OLD WHO JOINED THE GRUNTERS BECAUSE HE DESPERATELY NEEDED A JOB. RIGHT NOW HE'S THINKING HE SHOULD HAVE JOINED HIS UNCLE'S FISHING CREW INSTEAD.

I lowered my laser.

"Grab your friends," I ordered, "and help me drag them out. And don't even think of double crossing me."

The kid nodded, still terrified. He grabbed one man and started hauling him out.

My weapons went into inventory as I grabbed and lifted the other two, one on each shoulder.

YOU ARE OVERBURDENED! AP REGEN -4. CURRENT: -1.2 /SEC.

I quickly hauled the men out of the burning warehouse and dumped them on the pavement. Wallie was still struggling to haul his friend out of the door.

I raced back, grabbed the man, and pulled him out on the double. We reached the pavement just as the timer hit 00:00.

The warehouse collapsed.

Flames roared into the sky, lighting up the night with eerie colours. Looked like the meth lab had also gone up.

WARNING: DANGEROUS SMOG APPROACHING.

Crap. Phosphorus is one of the ingredients in making meth. It’s also a pretty toxic gas….

I pulled the men further back. They were still unconscious…

TEST OF LUCK: PASSED.

A FRESH BREEZE BLOWS IN AND UPWARDS, DISSIPATING THE DEADLY GAS.

…. Well, at least my stats help sometimes.

A sudden impact lurched me forwards.

DAMAGE TAKEN! SMALL PISTOL. -12 ARMOR POINTS. ARMOR 329/400.

I turned.

Wallie Sims dropped his pistol and started to run.

Did that moron just shoot me?

Bodycharge.

I slammed into him, knocking him over.

WALLIE SIMS -44 HP!

CONDITION INFLICTED: TERRIFIED. -3 INT, -3 WIS, 50% CHANCE TO FAINT WITHIN 30 SECONDS.

I loomed over Wallie. I could sense his terror.

“Please don’t kill me,” he whimpered. “I have a mother.”

I couldn’t kill a man who’s begging for his life. The armour, however, did a great job of concealing that. “Most people do,” I hissed. “Is this how you want her to remember you? A small time drug dealer?”

“I needed the money,” begged Wallie. “I… never hurt anybody….”

“Stupid. You tried to shoot me.” I flexed my hammer menacingly.

“Please… it was a mistake…” The kid was crying now. “I’ll never do anything like this again… I swear….”

A warm wetness touched me feet. Liquid….

Did Wallie just pee in his pants?

Ugh. The things they don’t tell you about hero work….

“You swear to obey the law henceforth?” I rumbled. “You’ll never cheat, never lie, never steal?”

“I swear!”

“You’d better, Wallie Sims,” I hissed.

WALLIE SIMS IS HYPERVENTILATING! -5 INT, -5 WIS, -3 DEX, 80% CHANCE OF FAINTING IN THE NEXT 30 SECONDS.

I leaned over and slapped him. Gently.

Wallie stopped hyperventilating.

Great, now he’d soiled himself too. My helmet needed better air filters.

I looked him in the eye. “You’re going to go home. You’re going to clean up your act. And you’re going to never, ever commit a crime again.” I infused my words with 250 PP. “And when I come to you next, you’re going to tell me the location of every Grunter hideout in the city.”

The force of my words slammed into Wallie’s mind like a sledgehammer. He gasped.

YOU HAVE LAID A COMPULSION ON WALLIE SIMS!

WALLIE SIMS IS NOW COMPELLED TO OBEY THE LAW AND TO TELL YOU THE LOCATIONS OF GRUNTER HIDEOUTS.

NEW CONTROL SKILL UNLOCKED: COMPULSION.

IMPLANT A COMMAND IN THE SUBJECT’S MIND, FORCING THEM TO OBEY. THE LOWER THE TARGET’S INTELLIGENCE, THE MORE LIKELY THAT THEY WILL BE UNABLE TO RESIST.

REQUIRES SUBJECT TO BE INTIMIDATED.

COST: 250 CP. CHANCE OF SUCCESS = (YOUR CHARISMA - TARGET INT) X 10%.

…. And that’s a skill now.

“You can go,” I growled.

The would-be gangster crawled away.

I looked at my boots. Yup… I’d have to take them off outside and then wash them - and disinfect them - thoroughly.

Sims had gotten to his feet, shakily.

I pulled out my laser rifle. “Get going,” I told Sims.

The man stared at me blankly.

“Run!” I snapped. Sims turned and ran at top speed down the alley.

…. Why was he zig-zagging?

I glanced at myself. Black-clad, armoured figure standing with a laser rifle in his hands.

…. Yup, he actually thought I was going to kill him.

A loud crash announced the fall of the last beam in the Grunter warehouse.

GRUNTER WAREHOUSE DESTROYED! +450 XP.

6 GRUNTER GUARDS DEFEATED. +300 XP.

GRUNTER SOLDIER DEFEATED. +200 XP.

BATTLEPLAN SUCCESSFULLY EXECUTED: +100 XP.

YOU HAVE LEVELLED UP! NOW LEVEL 5.

ATTRIBUTE BOOSTS: 1.

“In another incident of escalating gang violence, a suspected drug warehouse was burnt to the ground. At least four people are confirmed dead. Some sources claim the involvement of the new ultra Nightflame in the incident….."

I turned off the TV.

"Nightflame?" I muttered.

"It happens," shrugged Anne. "The press often picks your name for you."

"So my going around calling myself Belessar…."

"Won't matter. Whatever name the public picks for you is what sticks. I'm more concerned about the deaths."

"I tried," I grumbled. "They started shooting first."

"Try to avoid it next time? You don't want to get a reputation as a mass murderer." Anne hesitated. "Although, if it's a choice between you and them, then nuke the bastards."

"Language," I muttered weakly.

"Screw that. Did you get anything out of it?"

"Timer's at 183 days now. And I levelled up in the process."

"Got a boost?"

"Yeah. I think I'm going to use it for Wisdom. That'll get my total MP to 400." No more dipping into the tablets to make a power pack.

"Makes sense. You could use some more wisdom anyway."

"You are a very bratty sister."

"Goes with the territory. You going to use that boost or not?"

I accessed my interface and boosted Wisdom.

+1 WIS.

MAXIMUM MP INCREASED TO 400.

NEW TRAIT UNLOCKED: LEADERSHIP.

LEADERSHIP ALLOWS YOU TO CREATE TEAMS AND FACTIONS. YOU CAN INVITE OTHERS TO YOUR TEAM AND THEY CAN GAIN XP SIMILAR TO YOU. A SECURE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM ALLOWS YOU TO MESSAGE TEAM MEMBERS INSTANTANEOUSLY, IRRESPECTIVE OF DISTANCE. TEAM MEMBERS CAN VIEW EACH OTHER'S ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS.

MAXIMUM TEAM SIZE DEPENDS ON CHARISMA AND WISDOM.

BE WARNED, TEAM MEMBERS CANNOT BE REMOVED WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT. CHOOSE YOUR COMPANIONS WISELY.

CURRENT TEAM SIZE: 2 (INCLUDING YOU).

"I got a new trait," I told Anne.

"What's a trait?"

"It seems to be like a skill, but named differently for some reason….. I can now create teams." I explained the ability.

Anne's eyes widened as I described it. "Are team members permanent or can you change them?"

"Looks permanent."

"That means you can only invite someone who you trust. Fully."

Which was a very short list.

Of one person.

"Anne," I said. "I think I'm going to add you to the team."

"But…" She swallowed. "I…. I don't think I could go into combat, the way you do."

"That's not what this is for. Team members can communicate - in real time - with each other, no matter where they are. And besides, who else could I trust?"

Anne nodded. "It … would help. I don't like waiting to hear from you when you're out."

I nodded, acknowledging the point. "Let me see how this works, then."

CHOOSE A NAME FOR YOUR TEAM.

"We need a team name," I told Anne.

"Dragonflies," replied Anne.

I cocked an eyebrow. "You came up with that one pretty fast."

"When I was a kid, I used to think about what superhero I'd want to be, if I ever was one. This was what my team name would be."

"You thought about that?"

"Lots of kids do." She shrugged. "Very few get the chance to make it actually happen."

"Dragonflies it is," I agreed.

YOU HAVE CREATED TEAM DRAGONFLIES.

CHOOSE YOUR TEAM MEMBERS TO INVITE.

I concentrated and thought of Anne.

Anne gasped.

"This is what you see?" she asked. "These floating blue boxes?"

"You can see them?"

"I…. have one box floating in mid air in front of me. It looks like an e-mail notification." Anne read it out. "Belessar has invited you to join the team: Dragonflies. Do you accept? There's a big green button saying Yes and a big red button saying No."

"Pick the green button?"

"Picking the green button, aye."

ANNE DRAKE HAS JOINED THE TEAM!

TEAM DRAGONFLIES IS AT MAXIMUM CAPACITY. ENHANCE YOUR CHARISMA TO INCREASE TEAM SIZE.

“Okay, so I finally found a use for the Charisma attribute,” I explained to Anne.

“Cool. Wow. Is this how you see the world all the time?”

“Like what?”

“Like through this blue haze.”

“That’s just the interface. You can dismiss it by thinking really hard. Or swiping.”

Anne’s hands went left, then right, then up and down, and through a series of seemingly random movements. Did I look that weird when I was dealing with my interface?

“Okay, I got to make it disappear,” Anne said. “Whew, that clears things up. How do I get it back again?”

“Say Attributes. Or Skills. These’ll allow you to see your details.”

“I can see them now. Hey, this lets me share my view with you.”

A notification appeared in front of my screen.

AS TEAM LEADER, YOU CAN VIEW THE ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS OF YOUR TEAM MEMBERS.

VIEW ATTRIBUTES: ANNE DRAKE

ANNE DRAKE

CLASS: SCHOOL STUDENT

LEVEL 1

HP 80/80

MP 98/98

XP: 0/1000

ATTRIBUTES:

STR: 7 DEX: 8 VIT: 8

INT: 14 WIS: 7 CHA: 4

PER: 13 ATT: 7 LUK: 10

“Huh. Okay, so it looks like you have… fairly low strength and dexterity, but your Luck attribute is better than mine. Also, you’ve got decent perception.”

“You’re comparing my numbers to yours?”

“Don’t have a lot else to compare it with….”

“You can haul two full-grown men out of a burning building. I’m not too worried about my strength being lower than yours.”

“We need some way to figure out the human average. Plus you can build your muscles with exercise.”

“Not to your level, though.”

“No, not to mine….” I frowned. “Technically, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to.”

“I’m pretty sure the rate at which you build muscle mass is a superpower in itself.”

“.... could be.”

“Whatever. I’m going to look at Skills. Huh, Cooking level 2, ouch that’s rude.”

“What?”

“It says I may be able to avoid burning toast. I’ve never burnt toast.”

“That’s just how my power is. It seems to enjoy making snide remarks about low levels in a skill.”

“Maybe it’s trying to motivate me to cook more….. You know, if that’s actually the case, your power is pretty sexist.”

“Trust me, it’s not sexism. My power insults everybody equally.”

“Yeah, right. Spanish Level 3, well I didn’t do too badly in the last test. Multitasking level Max? Who’s Max?”

“Maximum. That’s just skills that can’t be improved with practice. Like Observe in my case. What does the skill description say?”

“I can handle a large number of different inputs without my mind getting overwhelmed. Also direct a large number of outputs. Huh. Never noticed it before.”

“Outstanding. Now you can study while watching TV.”

“Funny, funny. Hey, what’s Swarm Command?”

“...huh?”

“I’ve got a skill called Swarm Command. And Nanoassembly. And there’s…. Cloud Energization? This is confusing stuff.”

“Wait, let me check.” I pulled up the interface.

VIEWING SKILLS: ANNE DRAKE.

COOKING LEVEL 2

CLEANING LEVEL 2

SPANISH LEVEL 3

MULTITASKING LEVEL MAX

SWARM COMMAND LEVEL 1

NANOASSEMBLY LEVEL 1

NANOPROGRAMMING LEVEL 1

NANOSENSORS LEVEL 1

CLOUD ENERGIZATION LEVEL 1

… the hell?

These weren’t normal skills….

MULTITASKING

ALLOWS ONE TO SIMULTANEOUSLY FOCUS ON MULTIPLE TASKS AND SPLIT THEIR ATTENTION ACROSS MULTIPLE STRANDS OF INPUT AND OUTPUT.

LEVEL MAX: THE USER CAN HANDLE INFINITE SOURCES OF INPUT, PROCESS THEM IN PARALLEL, AND SIMULTANEOUSLY DIRECT INFINITE OBJECTS. NUMERICAL LIMITS ON OTHER SKILLS ARE REMOVED. PASSIVE SKILL.

SWARM COMMAND

ALLOWS THE USER TO ISSUE INSTRUCTIONS TO A SWARM OF OBJECTS REMOTELY. USER CAN DIRECT THE OBJECTS THROUGH MENTAL WILL.

LEVEL 1: CAN CONTROL OBJECTS OF SIZE 1 MICROMETRE OR SMALLER.

NANOASSEMBLY

ALLOWS THE USER TO CONSTRUCT OBJECTS AT THE NANO-SCALE FROM EXISTING SUBSTRATES. USER MUST BE ABLE TO VISUALIZE ACCURATELY THE OBJECT BEING ASSEMBLED.

LEVEL 1: CAN CONSTRUCT OBJECTS OF MASS 1 MICROGRAM OR SMALLER.

NANOPROGRAMMING

ALLOWS THE USER TO IMPLANT PRE-DETERMINED PROGRAMMING AND INSTRUCTIONS INTO NANOSCALE COMPUTERS.

LEVEL 1: CAN COMPILE SIMPLE CODE TO MOVE, FIRE, OR DODGE INTO THE NANOCOMPUTERS.

NANOSENSORS

ALLOWS THE USER TO PROCESS INFORMATION FROM NANOSCALE SENSORS AND CONVERT IT INTO USABLE INFORMATION AT THE MACRO-SCALE.

LEVEL 1: CAN PROCESS OPTICAL INFORMATION FROM UPTO 100 NANOSENSORS. MODIFICATION: MULTITASKING LEVEL MAX ALLOWS PROCESSING OF OPTICAL INFORMATION FROM INFINITE NUMBER OF SENSORS.

CLOUD ENERGIZATION

ALLOWS THE USER TO POWER CLOUDS OR SWARMS OF NANOBOTS FROM THEIR ENERGY RESERVES, WITHOUT REQUIRING PHYSICAL CONTACT.

LEVEL 1: CAN WIRELESSLY POWER 0.1 KG OF NANOBOTS.

“Anne,” I gasped, “you’re an ultra.”

“What?” Anne looked startled. “That’s not possible!”

“Nanoassembly means you can construct tiny sub-microscopic robots. Nanoprogramming means you can program them to act the way you want. Nanosensors means you can see what they see and make sense of it. Cloud energization means you can send them power. Swarm Command means that you can control their movements and direct them where to go. And Multitasking …. Multitasking means you can command a massive number of them, without the sheer volume of input overloading your brain.”

“That’s…. That’s crazy. I’ve never been able to control robots! I have no idea how to build them! …. well, I’ve never tried to build them. But I really don’t know how to!”

“Well… one step at a time. These aren’t going to be your normal robots. I guess you have to be able to visualize them in order for them to actually get built.... You have to understand how they fit together, see it in your mind’s eye and then visualize them into existence.”

Anne gave me a perplexed look. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve lived with Mechanic for six months. I have a general idea how invention-type skills are supposed to work.”

“Huh. I suppose it makes some sense…” She trailed off. “What do I do with this, though?”

“Your powers?”

“My powers. If I’d gotten something that helped me wake Dad, at least it would make sense….”

“I don’t think the powers that come to you are the ones you want. I’m a generally honest guy, and half my skills are about extreme violence or petty larceny.”

“There is that. You’re soft and friendly like a large bear.”

“Thanks…. I think.”

“And your powers are - very brutal.”

“That’s true. Also tempting me to steal, and brainwash people.”

“And then there’s the Seduction Points.”

I winced. Anne hadn’t stopped teasing me since I told her about them. “It’s Control Points and the Charm skill.”

“Which you never use….. such a waste.”

“You know what I think of it. Besides, we were talking about your powers.”

Anne shrugged philosophically. “If you can live without using your Control Points, I guess I can learn to use my powers properly. The way I want them to work.”

“Which means practice,” I pointed out. “My powers get better with practice - and I’m guessing so do yours. Since they have levels and everything.”

“Okay - but I don’t know where to start.”

“Well - I know what we’re going to do first.”

“What’s that?”

I took a deep breath. “We’re going to make you a suit.”