Chapter 28 – Insurance for Flight Assurance

There was only one thing Arwain could say in response.

“You’re insane.”

“No, Mr. Riot. I simply have full confidence that you cannot abandon your desire to help others. You would carry the entire burden in a desperate act of selflessness, particularly when the entire city is in your hands.”

Arwain looked down at the timer again. With just under fifteen minutes, he would have enough time to fly out of the city, but not enough to get away from the five-kilometer range. He needed to transport the bomb another way, maybe with a cannon.

The mayor spun around in his chair, suddenly sporting a cheap novelty mask over his face. He tapped a button on his desk.

“No no, Mr. Riot. I can tell you are considering other options. But let’s just say that I, Daedalus, won’t make it so easy.”

“Huh, surely you didn’t simply order a Diet Coke. What did you do?”

The mayor wagged his finger at him.

“You’re wasting your time here. Remember, the entire city is watching.”

In the next instant, Arwain bolted out the mayor’s office. He tucked the bomb securely in his arm and made for the closest exit.

“Jolly! Jolly, are you there?! Anyone?!”

It took several moments for her to respond.

“What the hell happened in there?! I’ve been trying to reach you for the past ten minutes, but the signal kept being blocked!”

“Status report, Jolly! I have a live bomb in tow!”

“Well, we do too! All of a sudden, the city’s droids filled the airspace each carrying one! The team is doing their best to take down as many of them as possible and neutralize them.”

“Is it working?”

“Yes, the shields I developed cancel out the code. We simply need to pry them from their cold, metallic hands!”

Arwain reached an exit and looked out at the city, where a flurry of activity buzzed all around. Droids crossed his vision, carrying Icarus bombs, while Gliders gave chase. In the time that Arwain was meeting with the mayor, all hell had broken loose.

A swirl of cameras buzzed around the action, with some hovering before him to catch his bewildered expression. It was a live broadcast throughout the city, capturing everyone’s heroics.

“That’s what he meant by that…”

Without stopping, Arwain tried to find an open space for him to fly through, but suddenly, he noticed that the droids all turned toward him.

An ominous feeling washed over him as he backpedaled and started to fly upward to avoid them. Jolly’s voice interrupted his moment of panic.

“Arwain! Just what is it that you have in your hands?! I can’t get a reading on it!”

He proceeded to explain the unique bomb in his possession, one that was set to engulf the whole city. It didn’t take long after that for Jolly to go off on him.

“Get your ass away from all of those droids, now!”

“I’m trying! But something tells me you know why my instincts are telling me that they are instant doom.”

A video popped up in Arwain’s vision, the masked mayor broadcasting to the public only a minute ago.

“Hello, citizens of Stratos. I am Daedalus. The one that has been sending you gifts to bring you back to ground level. Please join me in welcoming the future of what Stratos is meant to be! I now control every government drone in this city, and they each hold a bomb that can bring personal demise. But if it was just the same as before, you are surely wrong. I have a surprise. One final bomb that threatens the entire city. Wish our brave heroes good luck as they try to keep them away. If bombs touch, then Stratos will be no more.”

Right after the broadcast cut off, Arwain turned back to the public channel, seeing the cameras focused on him. Auxiliary footage in small windows showed Gliders rushing to his position, taking out droids one-by-one before snatching the bomb away.

The mayor had planned it all. He knew that the public would be watching, all attention on the ‘heroes’ and none on the villain. Their hearts pounded as to whether Arwain would succeed or fail. Everything fell on the shoulders of the champion manufactured to serve. The pressure was starting to get to him.

“Arwain, look out!”

He quickly swerved out of the way of a charging droid, tucking the bomb away from contact at the last moment. His heart was beating in overdrive at the close call. But then, he felt someone tag him on the shoulders.

Arwain looked over to see a Glider vault over him, a pair of juggling clubs in his hands.

“Jester!”

“The main event has arrived!” he chirped, tossing one club to bean a droid in the face before it bounced right back into his hand.

The bomb fell out of its grip and dropped down, until it was scooped up by Queen. With one click of a device, a shield surrounded the bomb, neutralizing it.

Arwain turned around, seeing another droid heading his way, but suddenly, a wire wrapped around it, diverting it away. Sarge’s favorite weapon pulled it in a wide arc away from Arwain, until it was skewered right into a pitchfork held by Dingleberry. With another click of a device the bomb it held became inactive as well.

Silver Stream had his left and his right, keeping any droids from approaching. However, there was still no path for him to make distance from the city. They kept pushing him back, right into the Thousand Wonder that stood at the center. With so many swarming around, the timer continued to click down without him making any distance. Less than ten minutes remained.

“Where do I go? What do I do? Jolly, can you hear me?!”

“Just wait for it. They’ll be here soon.”

“Who will?”

Arwain’s ears perked up as a familiar jingle could be heard.

“Like a good neighbor, FlightEx is there~~~”

It came from not just one person, but an entire chorus of Gliders. Arwain looked over to see Jake from FlightEx leading his entire crew down the line, blocking the rush of droids from below. Though wings still unsteady, he had rallied his company to help, strangely wielding an ancient landline phone as a weapon.

“Don’t mess with the normal guy in khakis and a red polo! We’re always on call to lend a hand!”

The receiver swung out, the spiral cord wrapping around a droid’s neck. With a strong tug, it was clotheslined from the air and landed right into a waiting team of specialists wielding outdated office equipment that looked like it had been sitting in storage for ages. Word had been spread around that everyday objects bypassed a droid’s threat perception, making them perfect for makeshift weaponry. Someone apparently found that out when he threw a stapler at a police droid in anger, and it didn’t even register it.

“Citywide is on your sideee~~”

Another chorus of chants came from above, and then, more joined in from left and right.

“You’re in good hands with AllCity~~~”

“We are Gliders, bum-ba-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum~~~”

Soon enough, the airspace around the Thousand Wonder was filled with hearty chants as Gliders cleared some room for Arwain to fly. Company jingles they may be – Arwain couldn’t help but feel like the hymns of resistance had joined his cause.

“Now’s your chance, Arwain! Head straight up while the others keep things busy!” Jolly yelled at him.

“Right, got it! Thanks, Jolly! You called up everyone, didn’t you?”

“You know I like to be prepared. Even if we’re rivals in business, if there’s no city, there won’t be any business for us. It’s a win-win for everyone. Now, go. We’ve got the rest.”

Arwain beamed a smile. He primed his wings for a straight shot upward, as far as he could go. Since he knew that the Thousand Wonder was empty above a certain floor, he only had time to climb.

“Oh, and before I forget,” Jolly said, “Thanks for using Silver Stream!”

“Where our service is a ‘riot’!” Jester, Queen, Sarge, and Dingleberry finished with her.

Arwain’s eyes widened. They threatened to tear up. But the looks on his team’s faces spurred him on.

He roared with excitement as his thrusters shot him up along the side of the Thousand Wonder.