CHAPTER 83: CHANGES TO THE BUBBLE.

It was not surprised to rain in Fortress four. They had not seen a drop of rain, not since girl bubble went up and saved them from the meteorites. The only exception was the little citrus drizzle which made it inside. But this could be blamed on carelessness of the gel application team.

Since then, soldiers had taken it upon themselves to apply the gel and supervise all the teams that were responsible for that task.

So, when Major Elio felt some drizzle like moisture in the air, he grew worried. The weather was cold but the air around them had always been cool and dry.

As soon as he realized this, he alerted the other soldiers and instructed their heads with hoods, wear gloves and apply more gel immediately. Then, he communicated his suspicions to Nimo.

Alarms blared and everyone was advised to stay indoors and wait for further communication. Word of the acid rain possibly making it past the bubble spread quickly. Soldiers paced like rats trapped in a kettle. Those closest to Nimo surrounded her before she could get to Sunshine.

"How else can we help?"

"Is there any way to enforce the shield?"

Nimo tried her best to calm them down. "I will find the president right now and hear what she has to say. If the bubble cannot handle the acid rain, we should start making preparations to stay indoors and wait the rain out. These houses were constructed with stone that would not be corroded. Go home and wait."

She escaped the worried soldiers and their families and found Sunshine who was training as usual. She was not training her body but her ice powers. Nimo was the only one other than Hades that knew Sunshine had awakened.

Nimo shared Major Elio’s observations with her. "What do we do?"

"I will see what I can do. If there is nothing in my gadgets that can reinforce the bubble, then all we can do is wait behind closed doors." Sunshine replied. "Those on patrol should wear weather absorbent under suits meanwhile. They should be covered from head to toe. This is just in case the bubble caves."

Nimo rushed out to take care of that.

Meanwhile, Hades took the children to martial arts class to get their minds off the problems they were facing. He knew Sunshine was going into her space to find something.

She vanished from the living room immediately just as he expected.

"System, the volatility of the acid rain is proving to be stronger than what the bubble can handle. What can I use to repair the bubble or replace it completely."

[Suspended canopy: A high energy membrane infused with plasma that hovers above the base. Cons, needs a lot of power to function.

Toxic liquid-Eater drones: Nano drones that consume acid liquids and convert them to harmless mist and consumable water. Cons, very costly and very hard to maintain.

Trap-Tarp field: An experimental device that rewinds raindrops before they fall. Cons, Unknown device and causes headaches and bleeding when activated.

Freeze burst: An ice-cold mist that freezes the rain droplets and they explode midair. Cons, toxic liquid turns into toxic ice that could fall anywhere.]

"What about the bubble?" She asked. None of the options offered were good enough.

[Just change the gel. Con: anti-toxic gel carries pungent smells so prepare some refreshing masks.]

"You could have started with the gel." she muttered. It was cheap and the bubble got to stay.

She bought a lot of gel and masks including what would be sent over to the other bases. If those bases fell, the survivors would come knocking on the gate of Fortress four. But how was she going to deliver the gel in all that acid rain.

It looked like it was time to put those cars she modified to the test.

Sunshine got out of the space and went to the information center, spreading the word on the new gel. Then she asked to find a willing team that would suit up and follow her to deliver the new gel.

Nimo looked out at the rain and turned to Sunshine. "We are going out there!"

Sunshine nodded. "I modified the cars."

As residents to apply the new gel, Sunshine and Nimo drove out to the lone structure where modified vehicles of all types were arranged.

"In acid rain, ordinary cars last as long as butter does under the hot sun." Sunshine explained as Nimo threaded her way through the vehicles while whistling. "But these babies are modified to withstand most of the disasters in the apocalypse. I covered them with modified military style tarps covered with weather absorbent under suit material.

I also added corrosion proof paint which was used on most of the buildings and the wall.

Every car has vapor that burns acid rain and turns it into steam. It is a chemical composition someone discovered in the apocalypse."

"What about the tires?" Nimo shouted.

"Dark matter dust." Sunshine replied.

Nimo’s head popped up quickly. "Dark matter--what--now?"

"Dark matter dust." Sunshine repeated. "I will tell you about it someday. But it helped me harden the tires. Only disadvantage is that they make a whiny sound as you drive. "

There were other options that the system gave her, but Dark matter dust was the cheapest. Void rubber tires had been the best option, but they were almost as expensive as weather absorbent under suits. Mythisrubber alloy attracted magnetic objects as the car drove. To Sunshine, a car would not make it far if things stuck to the wheels. It was another cheap option, but she rejected it.

"In case we meet a ditch or meteor, these cars can hover and fly for a short distance."

"What’s the catch?" Nimo asked her.

She could hear it in Sunshine’s voice that there was something she was leaving out.

"I would rather be in bed than driving out in acid rain. Apocalypse weather is unpredictable. You can do all the modifications, and something could still go wrong." Sunshine replied. She pressed the car key and opened the doors for two cars. "You take one and I take one."

They drove out and returned to the information center. Major Elio and a team of twelve soldiers was waiting. Of course there was no lack of a crowd.

What Sunshine loved about soldiers the most was that they were always prepared. They were already in weather absorbent under suits, military uniforms on top and armed to the teeth.

Major Elio had even put together a plan which had them wrapping up the mission in sixteen minutes.

Sunshine tossed the major two car keys. "We don’t know what we might encounter so let’s take some tanks.

The major whistled. "We have tanks!"

"We have everything here." Sunshine replied.

Nimo drove them back while Sunshine walked towards Hades and the children. "What are you doing out here?" she asked him.

Castiel immediately reached out for a hug, and she carried him.

Hades did not want to scare the children, so he hugged her. "I don’t like this," He whispered.

"I know." She answered.

"Make sure that you come back. They are not a priority. I don’t care if Jon and his pompous friends die. I care if you die." He added.

"I know." She answered. "Now take our children back inside before they start crying because they think that I am going out to die or something."

Hades tightened his arms around her instead of letting her go.

With how fast his heart was beating, Sunshine figured that he was nervous. A nervous parent made nervous children. "You are going to scare Earl. I have been through much worse weather than this without all this protection. I promise that I am coming back alive. If I don’t make it back alive, find my ghost and spank it for making a bad decision."

Hades laughed.