Sidekick Carl Stubblefield (beginner reading books for adults TXT) 📖

of the powerhouse supers, but I was always determined and consistent. The assessors at the academy said I was making good progress on my abilities, but I never expected this. Those mercs aren’t going to know what hit them,’’ she said with a huge smile.

Gus just stared, as she almost exuded energy. Until her eyes rolled back and he barely caught her as she went limp. Lowering her to the floor, he pulled her tousled hair to the side and gently tried to rouse her.

“Nick, is she okay?”

“Oh, she’s more than okay. She’s just experiencing level-up euphoria multiplied by fifty.”

The moans and squirming took on a different meaning with this new information.

“I’ll have what she’s having,” Nick said.

Gus tried to imagine what the post-level euphoria for fifty-four levels would feel like and gave up. Post-level euphoria for only a couple levels at a time was intense enough for him. He had twenty stat points of his own saved up, and thought he was doing well. But two-seventy!

At last she settled, a serene smile spreading across her face, but she was still trying to catch her breath. Finally her eyes fluttered open.

“How are you doing?” Gus wrinkled his brow as Aurora released a long wistful sigh and slowly stood.

“That was a mind scrambler!” Aurora gasped. She held up a finger to forestall any more questions, and leaned heavily on the wall for support. Gus waited in awkward silence as she panted to get her breath back.

“Whooo. What was that?” she asked when she had regained some composure.

“Well, I think it’s kind of a reward for hitting another level. A massive rush of endorphins and whatnot. It seems to mask any discomfort with improving muscle tone and body changes associated with leveling.”

“Wow, I definitely can get used to that. I’m sorry Gus, what were we even talking about before?”

“Somehow it slipped my mind,” Gus admitted.

“Stat points,” Nick offered. And Gus repeated it as if he had remembered. “You should think of how you want to allocate them. If your abilities work like mine, a lot of them improve based on stats and your MP, HP, and Stamina pools should grow a lot too.”

Gus watched as Aurora gazed in wonder at discovering the nuances of her display. He heard her mutter to herself as she tried to figure out how to navigate the tabs and menus as well as how to allocate her points. Recognizing that this could take a while, Gus turned his mind to the next set of preparations. It wouldn’t be long before the other supers would come, but Aurora had said they didn’t know Methiochos wasn’t here. He could use that to his advantage, somehow. Give the illusion of strength so that they wouldn’t dare an outright storming of the manor.

He would need to check out what options the manor had in terms of decoys and subterfuge. He thought he had seen some other items in the same menus as turrets and sensors that warranted more research. Plans began to form and Gus itched to confirm his suspicions, but Aurora was still exploring in her own little world.

“Aurora, when you’re done, let’s head up to the control center. We can plan up there; it has access to multiple cameras, and you can get a feel for the layout of everything. Then maybe we could head to the dispensary and you could pick out some clothes,” Gus suggested.

Aurora nodded. She stood numbly and slowly shuffled out of the cafeteria. Gus took her arm and guided her around some chairs so she wouldn’t collide with them.

“Have you made any decisions yet?”

“I’m still checking out all my abilities. I’ve always had a vague sense of the MP costs and recharge time, but it’s so much clearer now. I actually have been holding myself back; my available MP has outpaced my expectations. I’ve always avoided bottoming out because I get these fierce migraines that persist for days afterward. This makes that so much less likely.

“Okay, I think I know where I want to allocate these points. You were right, my HP and MP are rising, but not by as much as you said. Wow. Damage for Ion Storm jumped to three times its normal value.”

“Where are you putting the points?”

“I raised everything to a base of forty, then kicked my Constitution to fifty, Agility and Perception to sixty, and the rest in Intelligence so it’s at eighty. I’ll admit, I’m a little excited to see how things have changed with these upgrades.” She blinked a couple times and her eyes came back into focus as they neared the elevators. “Where were we going again?”

“Control center.”

“Yes, yes, control center. Let’s go.”

“Aurora, why do you think Purple Faction didn’t train you about all this from the get-go? Wouldn’t you all be much more powerful? It doesn’t really make sense.”

“I don’t know. We had assessors in the academy who would come and give you a status update each month, evaluating your performance and seeing how you were progressing. Maybe they were reading our stats and levels? They always carried a holopad and took copious notes. Maybe after reaching a certain level of control, they would tell us? I really don’t know.”

“I guess that sounds plausible. The academy isn’t really life or death, is it?”

“It can get pretty bad. You just wish you were dead with how they hammer you with training. It’s like boot camp, but they can tell just how much to push you, even more than you know yourself. And they do. Relentlessly. I think part of it is they want to make it so miserable you bond with your fellow trainees. Whatever the reason, it works. You learn how to rely on your team for support.”

“I can see that. I’m glad I was able to level up as I went. I don’t think I would have survived without those stat bonuses. That reminds me. Aurora, I have a question for you,” Gus stammered, uncertain again.

“Okay,” she replied, a little on guard from his