Novels by Ian

The "Aggressive Restructuring" mode didn't involve a PowerPoint presentation or a firm handshake. Instead, it involved the Auditor’s arms spinning at three thousand RPMs, creating a localized vacuum that smelled intensely of ozone and corporate despair.“Rangers! Evasive maneuvers!” Shin screamed, but she was a split second too late.The Auditor didn't just punch. It optimized the space where the Rangers were currently standing so that they were no longer a part of the bakery's floor plan. A wave of kinetic force slammed into Kevin’s chest, sending him soaring through the front window, past the terrified barista, and across the street with the grace of a tossed sack of potatoes.SPLASH.Kevin sputtered, his vision swimming as he realized he was currently sitting in the center of the Memorial Park fountain. Beside him, Hudson was face-down in the water, his black armor slick and dripping, while Shin and Arya landed in a heap near the bronze statue of the city’s founder.“Is the water s

The massive shadow looming in the bakery doorway didn’t belong to a god of destruction or a cosmic horror. It belonged to Bellamy, whose armored form was currently draped in several strings of festive bunting he’d accidentally snagged from a nearby storefront. He looked less like a harbinger of doom and more like a very aggressive parade float."TSANIA!" Bellamy roared again, his voice vibrating the display cases and making the gluten-free muffins tremble. "I FOUND THE WI-FI PASSWORD! IT WAS ‘COFFEE123’! BUT IRIANA SAYS THE UPLINK IS STILL BROKEN BECAUSE A PIGEON SAT ON THE DISH!"Tsania didn’t look up. She just tore off a piece of a buttery croissant with the mechanical precision of someone who had completely checked out of reality. "Go away, Bellamy. Tell the Board I died. Tell them the Green one sat on me. I don’t care anymore."Kevin cleared his throat, his hand still hovering near his transformation device. "Uh, is this a bad time? Because we were kind of prepared for a final sho

The countdown timer glowed a menacing, violet-tinged red against the billboard, the numbers 00:59:59 pulsing like a digital heartbeat. Kevin Cwan stared up at the massive screen, his grip tightening on his dented green helmet. This was it. The ultimate ultimatum. The "Final Acquisition." The moment where the city would finally fall to the Obsidian Syndicate.Then, Tsania’s face on the screen froze.Her mouth was wide open, mid-sentence, but the audio had decided to go on its own separate journey. Three seconds later, her voice caught up in a high-pitched, distorted burst."—and then the streets will run with the... the... [buffering] ...tears of your—"The image stuttered. Tsania’s left eye began to twitch at a frame rate so low it looked like she was trying to send a Morse code message via eyelid."Is it just me, or is the 'Final Acquisition' suffering from a serious case of bad bandwidth?" Kevin asked, squinting at the screen."It’s humiliating," Hudson remarked, leaning against a n

The dust from the "Public Works Bot" had barely settled, coating the pristine, vacuumed street in a fresh layer of grey irony, when Kevin Cwan realized he was in deep trouble.He had managed to demorph behind a stack of recycled tires, frantically pulling his moth-eaten trench coat over his emerald spandex. His helmet was shoved uncomfortably down the back of his pants, making him walk like a man who had recently survived a tragic encounter with a stapler. He just wanted to find a subway station, go home, and stare at a spreadsheet until his brain stopped screaming."You! Trench coat guy! Hold it right there!"Kevin froze. He turned slowly to see Hellen, the city’s most relentless news reporter, sprinting toward him. She wasn't just carrying a microphone; she was wielding it like a bayonet. Behind her, a hovering drone camera buzzed with the predatory energy of a hornet."Oh, hey," Kevin squeaked, adjusting his zero-prescription glasses until they sat crookedly on his nose. "I was jus

The high-pitched whine of the giant robotic vacuum cleaner finally cut out, replaced by a series of pathetic mechanical gurgles. The street, previously littered with the wreckage of a coffee shop and several mid-sized sedans, was now unnervingly, surgically clean. Even the asphalt looked like it had been polished with a toothbrush.Kevin Cwan let go of the lamppost, his fingers cramped into claws. He slumped to the ground, his emerald-green spandex squeaking against the pristine pavement.“Is it dead?” Kevin wheezed, checking to see if his ears were still attached. “Did we win, or did we just get professionally tidied up?”“It’s retreating to its dock for a recharge cycle,” Bima Arya said, his blue visor flickering as he scanned the empty street. “Technically, a tactical stalemate. But on the bright side, the city’s hygiene rating just went up by forty percent.”“I don’t care about the hygiene rating! I almost got turned into a dust bunny!” Kevin scrambled to his feet, dusting off his

The espresso machine hissed one last time, sounding remarkably like a dying breath, as Kevin ducked behind a velvet-covered sofa. Shards of glass were still tinkling onto the floor like lethal confetti.“Kevin! Report! What’s the status of the target?” Shin’s voice barked inside his ear, nearly deafening him over the sound of screaming patrons and car alarms.“The status is ‘I am currently reconsidering my life choices’!” Kevin hissed into his lapel, pressing his back against the upholstery. “Bellamy just turned the front window into a glitter factory! And he’s looking for Tsania! Or a coffee with six shots of espresso, judging by the level of rage!”“Do not transform!” Arya’s voice cut in, crisp and annoyingly calm. “Public disclosure of the Aegis initiative remains at a zero-percent priority. You have to handle this in your civilian capacity.”“My civilian capacity is ‘Freelance Spreadsheet Optimizer’!” Kevin yelped as a flying chair demolished a display of artisanal biscotti three