Chapter 20
They were back on their way at first light, hiking along what was left of Interstate 70.
Eventually, they reached the edge of the lake formed by the flow of the rivers blocked by the walls. Like Xavier had said, something was draining the water away. After fifteen years it should have been an inland sea.
Scott looked across and to his joy, Zephyr Zero was sitting on a section of dry land close to the wall.
The reluctant duo continued toward the shore.
“Hold up.” Logan said. He ducked behind a wrecked car and Scott followed.
A rather sizable crowd were standing perfectly still near the shore in a perfect grid pattern. Every one of them was dressed in a dark grey jumpsuit.
“Oh great, that’s not creepy at all” Scott said, “Who are these guys.”
“Level 3 infected. Some of them travel here before they go crazy.”
“What are they wearing?”
“Someone gives them these uniforms, we don’t know who or why.”
The water began to be disturbed as if something was in it. Soon, several Iron Legion drones were rising up from the lake, surrounding a familiar “face”
“827…”
“You know that robot?” Logan asked “… better question would be ‘you know a robot?”
“He’s the one who tossed me out of my plane…”
“Greetings, children of the Iron King.” 827 yelled “Our glorious master has sent me to collect you”
“Oh noble prophet of our dear lord and master,” one of them spoke up “how many joyous souls will be joining him today?”
“Rejoice, for it is all of you!” 827 proclaimed
A cheer rose up.
“Do I even want to know what he’s going to do with them?”
“We don’t know.” Logan admitted.
The crowd of infected began walking towards the water. When the got to shore, instead of sinking, they began to walk along the surface of the water.
Logan looked on in confusion.
“How…?”
“Well,” Scott said, thinking “ether we have an actual miracle on our hands… or that’s not normal water…”
They waited for the infected to arrive on the other shore before venturing close to the water.
Scott reached out to touch the water, only to coil back in pain.
“FUCK!” he yelled
“What’s the matter?” Logan asked, nervously scanning around looking to see if anyone heard him.
“Something in the water… gave me a shock…”
“How bad?”
“For me… just about anything is bad…” Scott panted. It was the one downside of his new physiology. The blonde, female version of Barry Allen, who’d recently joined SHIELD, had compared it to her friend Kara’s species and their issues with certain kinds of radiation, but Scott’s grandmother had explained that this was unique to him.
Logan put his hand near the water and felt a small zap himself
“It’s like an electric fence.”
“The electric moat, when you absolutely want to keep people out…” Scott joked.
“You gonna be alright?” Logan asked
“There’s something on the plane that can help. Get me over there and we should be golden.” Scott said, working his way back to his feet.
“Can’t that suit fly?”
“I had to take that out, it didn’t fit with me in it.”
Logan let out a huff “So now what?”
“shut up and let me think…”
Scott stood and held out his hand. He gritted his teeth and strained.
“What in God’s name are you doing?” Logan asked.
“Trying to get the plane over here.” Scott forced out before falling to his knees.
“It’s no good.” Scott panted “It’s too far and I’m too stressed. I think that might kill me quicker than the electric water.”