The Gemini Age: Book One

[17-2] Stand as One - Part Two

    The underside of the sonic generator trembled, and the ground beneath Penelope's back cracked with distant strain. "You have to hold her off, Lloyd! I need more time to shut this machine down!"

    "I'm doing my best, I promise!" As Lloyd spoke, his latest stone wall shattered under another assault of super-heated firebolts. The tiny amount of water he had collected from the air while hiding behind the wall escaped back into the atmosphere as his barrier collapsed, and he yelped as he rolled out of the way of the straggling pair of projectiles that finished the attack. "Are you sure we can't just break this thing?"

    "The generator's too strong to break! And I can't disconnect the wiring without tripping the failsafe and setting the weapon off!" Penelope withdrew herself from beneath the generator and hopped to her feet, hand reaching for her staff. "Think of something! I'll try to stun her again."

    Lloyd moved the remains of his brick walls in time to catch a thumping ball of fire. "Are you kidding? That only kept her down for a few seconds!"

    Spinning out of the way of Roma's air blast, Penelope gave a groan of frustration. "That's why you need to think of something!" As soon as the wind tunnel eased, she started to dart towards Roma.

    Panic flooded Lloyd's mind as Penelope struggled to close the gap to their opponent. There were too many scenarios in which he screwed up and got Penelope hurt, not to mention all the pain he would no doubt experience himself. He also had too few options for what to do, as every time he had tried to hit Roma with stone she had shrugged it off without issue. The sonic cannon had blown any approaching vehicle down the road, leaving a lack of viable raw metal to work with. Controlling water from the air would take him too long for too little effect.

    He paused. The hard part of channelling water vapour into usable water was chasing the particles around to chill them, yet there was nothing difficult about using water that was already stabilised. There was no way to get enough water to freeze Roma in place, but he could do something help Penelope out now.

    Snickering to himself, Lloyd fought against his dry throat and spat into his palm. After wincing at the uncomfortable warmth swilling in his hand, he aimed his arms at the back of Roma's head as she circled around Penelope. Breathing to steady his shot, he propelled the globule through the air.

    It struck Roma right in the back of her neck, and she turned around as Lloyd cheered. "What in the – seriously?" Roma cried, cursing as her fingers found the offensive splash. "Did you really just spit at me?"

    She never received an answer to her question. Without hesitation, Penelope lunged forward and buried the barbed teeth of her staff into Roma's side, shocking her and sending her back to the ground. The isolated masses of rubble around the Nomad's body shuddered and hovered in the air as Lloyd followed up by forming a rock shell around their opponent, holding it in place with magical force.

    Penelope tapped Lloyd's shoulder as she passed him. "A creative solution to a difficult problem. Impressive," she said with a smile. "Gross, but impressive."

    "That's a compliment. I'll take it!" Stopping the rocks from crumbling into useless fragments took an immediate toll on Lloyd's concentration. "Now shut that thing down before my arms fall off!"

    ***

    With a nod, Penelope slipped back under the generator. The wiring was extensive but easy to understand because of her father's tidy way of working, evident in how he insisted the cables ran through small runoffs moulded into the board. Her awareness of her father's desire for neatness meant the stray keypad stuck out immediately, becoming more confusing when she found it was disconnected from the other electronics, leaving no reason for it to be there. Even under time constraints, Philemon Locke would never litter his machines with useless parts.