He pulled a pillar up from the ground to meet him, giving it a curve and turning it into a giant, spiraling slide. He swirled down, rolling over himself and banging against its iron siding until it spit him out onto the open road. He could feel his spine repairing itself as he struggled to his feet again.
He spotted a police chopper ahead, along with a fleet of trucks turning onto the street.
Hector ran up to the adjacent building and pulled a sudden iron tower up beneath his feet. He shot up, reaching the roof in seconds and then destroying both the slide and platform before running off again.
The police had been making it increasingly difficult to protect people--and for that matter, so had the people themselves. All the media coverage about the identity of the Darksteel Soldier and why the police were having so much trouble catching him had of course revealed Hector’s usage of metal to the general public; and once details of the Calman High massacre began to circulate, connections were soon made. Geoffrey’s puppets had suffocated because of freakish metal encasing, after all, and there wasn’t much hope of explaining that they were already dead and being used to kill even more people.
As such, the Darksteel Soldier had been labeled as no longer just a criminal, nor even just a killer. Now, he was a mass murderer. And that was enough attention so that almost anyone who saw him would immediately call the police. Even people he had just saved were quick to lose it and scream for help. Hector wasn’t looking for their praise, but it was still frustrating and tiresome all the same.
Garovel asked him for his location, and Hector gave it as best he could. He soon spotted all three helicopters still following him and jumped off the roof--this time intentionally--and landed on a shorter building. From there, he could leap down to the next street over without splattering against the concrete.
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
destroying the platform and slide both before running off again.
ReplyDeleteThink you mean slid. And not sure the rest of the statement.
Not a typo, but the sentence structure does make it confusing. Reworded to: "destroying both the slide and platform before running off again."
ReplyDeleteI think there's an article missing:
ReplyDelete"Now, he was [a] mass murderer."
Fixed, thanks.
ReplyDelete(Rewriting this comment. Just watch it post twice now.)
ReplyDeleteI like that Geoffrey's actions are still having an impact, even though Geoffrey himself has been destroyed, since Hector would have kept a somewhat lower profile and/or continued to be seen as something of a hero if Geoffrey hadn't forced his hand.
Yep, yep.
ReplyDeleteAnd I deleted the other one for you.
Hector really ought to invest some training time into statics and architecture as well as engineering principles. He could instantly make springs for his feet to land with.
ReplyDeleteThey'd be brittle as heck probably, but so what if they break after one use? The suffice for most cases.
Furthermore, the statics + engineering + architecture knowledge would allow him to make structurally reasonably sound constructs in the spur of the moment. A spiral slide for him to use? Spend some time to plan it on paper appropriate concessions to the building material being iron and BAMM, you have one, and if you spend a few more hours you can plan for one that scales with height.
He wants to arrive at the bottom and continue going? Hamster ball within hamster ball with ball bearings between the two. Add enough weight to designated bottom of inner ball and it will remain upright (think tumbler toy), while the outer ball rotates. If Hector's in the inner ball, he will ride the slide with monumental speed down. And a ramp at the bottom and he will jump above any obstacle. Make the slide rough and the speed will hit a limit.
I really love how fast Hector went from shitting metal turds to CONSTRUCTING AN AMUSEMENT PARK WITH HIS MIND.
ReplyDeleteSpeculation: It's been pretty well lamp-shaded that Hector's skill is growing fast, even by method 2 standards. I think it may be, partly, that Garovel and Hector have more in common than most reaper servant pairs. Their goals are almost in perfect sync, neither one even considers giving up or even compromising on their shared ideals. Garovel found an excellent match for his own soul, they started out more bonded than many pairs that have been together a very long time.
Haha.
ReplyDeleteI like to think Hector is actually the reincarnation of a previous servant of Garovel... But that's just me fantasizing lol
ReplyDeleteDamn, Hector can NOT catch a break. Even people he saves turns on him? They don't realize that Darksteel is the hero we need...and the one we deserve...?
ReplyDelete