Page 66 of Lovesick Gods

Mal did so and on the edges of the goggles he could see the temperature displayed, along with a brief description of the weather outside. He snorted.

“Eventually,” Priestly spoke on, “I can add distance tracking, maps, whatever you want, but for now the features are minimal. Now watch.” He stood before the slit in the containment box and held out the flower until it passed into the path of the cold field. Only Mal could see the swirling blue, but all of them watched as the flower began to stiffen and build with frost as if Mal had used his powers directly.

“Oh Priestly, you deserve a special bonus for this,” Mal said.

“Does that mean I can name my price?”

“Within reason.”

Priestly smirked as he pulled the flower back. “There’s a thin dial above the switch. Left pushes the radius further out, right brings it in. It’ll never get closer to you than where it is now, but the outward radius should be able to reach a full city block.”

Mal felt for the dial. He tested it and watched the circle of cold press against the containment box, unable to escape, then dialed it in and saw how it bowed toward him without getting closer. He couldn’t wait to see how Zeus dealt with his new upgrade.

But that thought brought with it a sudden frown Mal couldn’t banish. Flipping the switch off, he exited the chamber. “The strength of the field is still lower than the lowest blast of my powers, correct?”

“You could give a normal person some serious frostbite if untreated for too long, but Zeus should be slowed more than injured. Non-lethal just like you asked for.”

Mal tried to shake off the relief he felt at knowing the amplifiers wouldn’t hurt his nemesis, but his emotions remained tangled, spoiling his good mood.

“With Helios’s too.” Gesturing for Dom to take Mal’s place, Priestly handed the pyro a new version of the welder’s mask she sported in combat.

Her normal costume was a white tank top, with tan cargo pants and red suspenders like some mockery of a fireman. Like most Fire people, she didn’t overheat easily but preferred to be sparsely covered. Dropping her thin jacket outside the containment box, she was left in black leggings and a baggy, sleeveless red top that hung to her knees and complemented the streak of red in her hair.

Dom went through the same process Mal had and grinned wildly at the augmented reality, especially when Priestly held the frozen flower inside the box again and it wilted like melting wax.

“You’ll also be able to see each other’s radius bubbles so you don’t accidentally...well, for lack of a better term…cross the streams.” He looked far too annoyed with himself for that reference.

“What happens if they do cross?”

“Depends on several variables. Most likely it’ll create mist or a light snow. Worst case scenario there might be a slight…explosion.”

Mal’s eyes widened, while Dom chuckled in excitement. “Don’t cross the cold and heat fields. Got it.”

“Remember,” Priestly said, “amplifiers basically collect a portion of your powers like a battery and store it to be able to produce the cuffs’ effects. If you get winded or too injured to use your powers normally, the cuffs can be used as a backup to channel a few normal blasts of ice or fire. Try not to rely on that though.

“And here are the comms you requested.” Priestly pulled a set of three earpieces from a drawer in the table, handing one to Dom and two to Mal for himself and Lucy. “Additional microphones are built into the eyewear. So,” he leaned backagainst the table as Mal and Dom inspected their gear, “do I get to listen in like Zeus’s team does?”

Mal humored him with a smile. “Do I get to know where those flowers came from? Or do you always use camellias when field testing?”

Priestly crossed his arms, lips pursed and unrelenting. “Nana Andrews. Don’t change the subject.”

Considering the good work the kid had done, Mal decided not to push—for now. “Apologies, Hart, not this time, but there may come a day when we’ll need you. Can we set these up to signal you if necessary?”

“Already done.”

Of course it was. Mal glanced at Dom. Even with the earpiece she hadn’t been too keen on originally, she looked like a thief in a bank vault—positively gleeful. When Mal’s crew was happy, he was happy. “Let’s talk about that bonus, Hart. You earned it.”

Chapter16

Patrol was slow, but Danny didn’t mind as much as he expected. At least Ludgate hadn’t hit any new targets yet. There was time. And if the Elemental did hit somewhere soon, that was just new data to analyze on the path to catching him.

Danny finished another pass of the street he’d pinpointed as the most likely location for Ludgate to surface. He even occasionally waved to the plainclothes officers he passed. It was almost pleasant, aside from the scenery growing stale.

“You should head home, Lynn,” he said over the comms, stopping in a narrow alley barely wide enough to fit through but that kept him out of sight from the street. “I’ll give it another half-hour, then do the same. There’s always tomorrow, right?”

It was late, he was tired, and as long as he stayed positive, got enough sleep, and found time to see Cho later in the week, Ludgate avoiding capture was not going to keep him down.

“Are you sure, Danny? Andre’s still working on your new suit. I don’t mind staying a little longer in case you get lucky.”

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