Planet Hero- Civilian

by M. A. Carlson

  The man asked, “Who died?”

  I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself before I began to speak. I started with the obvious, “I have no idea. Some guy, in some kind of purple outfit, stepped out of a strange green vortex at the end of an alley. Said something about it working then started aspirating blood,” I explained, then I went into doctor mode, “His pulse quickly became thready and weak, so I gave him a shot of epinephrine to see if it could give his heart a jolt, but it didn’t slow down whatever it was he caught. When his heart stopped, I tried to resuscitate him, but he just . . . it was so quick. I’m not sure what killed him so quickly, but you should call in the CDC and quarantine any remains after that explosion. I should also probably be quarantined as well. It’s entirely possible I contracted whatever killed him.”

  The man probed further, asking, “This man who stepped through the portal, you didn’t know him? You’d never seen him before that day?”

  “No sir,” I answered, then I asked, “Was that really a portal?” Suddenly, I was getting the feeling this wasn’t a police station but some kind of secret government facility, one I was likely not going to be leaving alive.

  “Yes, it was real,” the man answered. “You’ve never seen a portal before?”

  “Only in the movies or video games,” I answered with a nervous laugh. I don’t know why I laughed. It wasn’t funny. Then my vision flashed again, only this time there was a spike of pain through my head and into the back of my eyes. For a brief moment, I thought that was me dying. Thankfully, I wasn’t dead, at least, not yet. As the pain subsided, I blinked a few more times and shook my head. My vision was fuzzy and seemed to be developing obstructions. Was this a symptom of what killed that man?

  The man asked, “Are you okay, son?”

  “I think . . . I think I might be symptomatic. My vision is blurring and has become partially obscured. And there is a pain in my head and behind my eyes,” I answered, trying to be direct. “I think I need a doctor, head CT, Chem-panel and standard blood test.”

  “I’ll call you a healer, just hold on,” the man said.

  I didn’t hear a door open or close, just a brief ‘wooshing’ sound, like in those sci-fi movies, with the sliding pressurized doors. If it was true, it lent some credence to the idea that I was being held in a government facility of some kind. And what did he mean ‘a healer’?

  I didn’t wait long before I heard the ‘wooshing’ sound again.

  “This is him, Ward,” my original interrogator stated.

  A new male voice, this one much deeper, chuckled, then asked, “You don’t say? I’m not sure I could have figured that out if you didn’t tell me, Light.”

  “Just, check him out,” the man now identified as Light said.

  “Cool, codenames,” I joked, blinking again as I was assaulted by more pain. This time it seemed to be everywhere at once. Seepimg into my muscles and bones. I would have convulsed and dropped to the floor if I hadn’t been so securely . . . secured.

  “What’s happening to him, Ward?” Light asked.

  Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

  “He is . . . or was, Nanoless,” Ward said, sounding surprised. “How is that even possible?”

  “Dr. Portal really did it,” Light said. “He actually crossed a dimension.”

  “Wait, is that real? I heard a rumor . . . but . . . seriously?” Ward asked, sounding more surprised.

  “Yes,” Light said. “But forget that for now, pay attention to him. Is he going to be okay?”

  I had so many questions, but my ability to speak seemed to have been severely impaired. I wanted to ask what ‘Nanoless’ was. I had never heard of such a disease or disorder. Then again, from what the two men said, it sounded like I was in a different dimension. Was that really a thing? Then again, that might be a hallucination on my part. I really couldn’t tell with all the pain I was in.

  Ward answered, though his voice didn’t carry much hope or optimism, “I don’t know yet, there hasn’t been a Nanoless since the Advent. And that was thousands of years ago. If you bothered to study your history, you would already know, the Advent wiped out 87% of all life on planet Hero. Not a very high survival rate.”

  I wanted to cry out ‘87%!’, instead, all that came out was an odd burbling sound that was completely unintelligible.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know,” Light said.

  “And then there are the untamed wilds outside of the fortress cities, the areas we still haven’t been able to reclaim,” Ward continued.

  “Enough about that. Is he going to make it?” Light asked.

  I felt a hand on my shoulder, even through the pain. There was extra warmth in that touch but that might have just been due to my body temperature dropping. I couldn’t be sure, and if I didn’t survive whatever was happening to me, I would never know.

  “It’s still too soon to tell,” Ward answered. “And if he really is from another dimension, there is no telling if his physiology is different from our own.”

  None of that sounded good to me. I found myself hoping I really was delirious. Another bout of pain spread through me like wildfire, and much more intense than previous. and I was ever so thankful to be embrace by darkness when I finally succumbed to whatever was attacking my body.

  3

  I woke with a start, my eyes peeling wide and blinking several times as I tried to take in my surroundings only to be confronted with a large video screen about a foot in front of my face.

  Congratulations!

  You have survived the Advent! What is the Advent? The Advent was humanity’s last hope of survival. Humanity was on the verge of destroying all life on the planet. Our environment was heavily polluted. Species were being hunted to extinction. Birthrates were in freefall. At most, we would have survived a century, if that.

  To combat the inevitable extinction of our people, we came to the conclusion that our only hope, was to forcefully evolve the planets population. Hence the Advent. We unleashed a Nano-virus, a biomechanical nanomachine virus, one capable of ushering in a new era. One that would evolve life. Making life more robust, enhancing strength, and granting great power. Though with great change, also comes great sacrifice. We estimated at least 60% of the world’s population would be lost during the great change we called the Advent. We mourn for those losses, but again, without those deaths, humanity would not have survived, would not have evolved.

  I blinked several more times as I read through the message, then I read it three more times. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Some nut job, or a lot of nut jobs, decided the best way to save humanity was to wipe most of them out. And if that wasn’t enough, they also forcefully evolved people.

  I tried to lift a hand to turn the screen off, but my hands were once again bound. I struggled for a few more seconds before deciding it was futile. Instead, I just glared at the message and wished it would just go away. It was much to my surprise when it did, only to be replaced with a new message.

  As a survivor, you will find your mind and body have been significantly changed. First, somewhere in your peripheral vision, you now have a digital interface that will communicate the status of your body directly to your mind in the form of a Life or Health Bar, results will vary. This will inform you when you are close to dying as it catalogues any injuries to your body.

  Second, you now also have access to an energy source previously unavailable to humanity. This energy source will grant you power, though the nature of that power will be very different for each person due to the forced nature of your evolution. You might be able to command fire, ice, lightning, or all three at once. You might be invulnerable to physical damage or be super strong. There is no way to predict exactly what ability you will be granted.

  My eyes now widened as I digested that bit of information. If I was reading this correctly, it meant I now had superpowers. I read the message a few more times, feeling slightly excited by the prospect. It also kind of explained why I was constrained the
way I was. If I had to hold someone with superpowers, I would not want that person to be able to move in the slightest, especially if I didn’t know what that person’s powers were. The question now, how do I find out what my superpowers were and how do I use them?

  I waited again for the message to change and hopefully give me more information but after a minute it didn’t move. I frowned and mental shouted, ‘move on’ wishing once again that it would get on to the next message or just go away so I could start figuring things out. And it did, which gave me pause. I was curious now. I thought ‘Back’ and the screen changed back to the previous. I thought ‘Next’ and it moved to the next message. I grinned a little. This was some rather impressive technology.

  Due to the possibly volatile nature of your new ability, the Nano-virus put a system in place to slowly unlock your potential over time and with experience.

  With each Milestone, you will be able to apply two enhancements to either Body or Ability, or one enhancement to each.

  Body enhancements fall into three categories, Athleticism, Resistance, and Recovery. Athleticism will increase your strength, agility, accuracy, and speed based on your muscle and body type. Resistance will increase your ability to take a hit, to keep on fighting through injury, and even possibly reduce the amount of damage you receive based on your muscle and body type. Recovery determines how fast you are able to heal from injury and how quickly you regain expended Nano energy.

  Ability enhancements fall into two categories, Power and Control. Power will increase the raw power of your ability as well as increasing the amount of energy you can command. Control will increase your manipulation of your ability, allowing you to refine how you use your ability.

  My mouth might have dropped a little at that. It felt like something out of a video game. Milestones were like levels. And each level granted two stat points to apply however you want. I was even more eager to find out what I could do. I thought ‘Next’ again and the message changed once again.

  At the first stage, you have been awarded one enhancement to each category. You will need to absorb more Nanos to advance.

  Once you close this message, you will be able to access your Body and Ability measurements by thinking or saying ‘Status’.

  Good luck! You and those like you are humanities hope for the future.

  I thought ‘Next’ again, but there were no further messages. What I thought was a video screen placed above me, vanished from view. Suddenly, I was aware that I was now in a room. I could see light peeking through window shades next to my bed. I saw an unoccupied chair. I also saw two doors, one of which I assumed was a bathroom and the other an exit. I might have thought it was a hospital room based on the white linen sheets and the general feel of it, but it lacked the smell of disinfectants I knew only too well from the years I’ve spent working in a hospital. There was also the fact that I was firmly secured and unable to move at all, something that was not exactly standard practice in a hospital, even for the criminals the police regularly brought in for treatment.

  Seeing as I wasn’t going anywhere, I decided to try out the only instruction given by the messages. So, I thought ‘Status’ and a new video screen appeared.

  Davis Malory

  Aliases: N/A

  Occupation: N/A

  Alignment: Neutral

  Milestone: 1st

  Nano: 0/1,000

  Body

  Athleticism: 1

  - Strength: Average

  - Agility: Above Average

  - Accuracy: Above Average

  - Speed: Average

  - Stamina: Average

  Resistance: 1

  - Physical Resistance: Average

  - Energy Resistance: Above Average

  - Mental Resistance: Above Average

  Recovery: 1

  - Physical Injury: Average

  - Nano Energy: Average

  Ability

  Power: 1

  - Time: Weak

  - Space: Weak

  Control: 1

  - Time: Weak

  - Space: Weak

  And that was it? I thought I would have this sudden and impressive boost in power that would make me a god among men. But that was it? According to this video thing, I was physically, mostly average. I had better Accuracy and Agility, but I had no idea how that was supposed to make me a stronger person or into any kind of a super anything. And what was that nonsense with my Power and Control. Weak? What did that mean exactly? Weak? I scoffed aloud but didn’t actually say anything.

  Apparently, the scoff was enough as I had no sooner made the noise than the door opened. I didn’t recognize the man or the blue and gold suit he was wearing, but the giant ‘W’ emblazoned on his chest made me think this was Ward, the man that showed up during my interrogation. A voice matching the man I heard called Ward by the other guy, asked, “Ah, finally awake, are you?” Ward was tall . . . I think he was tall. I couldn’t really tell from laying down as I was. I could see he was Black from the little bit of his face that wasn’t covered by his cowl and mask. He also appeared to be very physically fit. The skintight suit did very little to hide his physique. It honestly made me feel a little uncomfortable.

  “So it would seem,” I replied carefully. I still wasn’t sure what was going on here. The costume the man wore made me think he was some kind of superhero. But then, that man was wearing a purple suit and talked about taking over the world. It was entirely possible this man was also a villain . . . was that even a thing?

  “It would indeed,” Ward boomed, grinning broadly and confidently. “I, for one, am very glad to see you have recovered. I am the hero, Blue Ward. Might I have your name?”

  “Davis,” I answered. “Davis Malory.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Davis Davis Malory,” Ward replied.

  “No, just Davis Malory,” I said, feeling embarrassed for the man. That was such a played-out joke, but the sincerity in the way he said it made me think that was what he thought my name really was.

  Ward grinned broadly again, “Ah, even better. Your name will fit well enough in this world. We can discuss that later. For now, how are you feeling?”

  “Fine . . . confused. The, uh, the messages, is that real?” I asked. It was entirely possible I was still hallucinating. Or maybe I died, and this is some strange version of heaven . . . or hell, maybe purgatory?

  “Very real,” Ward answered, walking up next to the bed. I watched in fascination as his hand glowed blue with golden sparks shooting off at random. He set the hand on my shoulder and I felt the warmth from the previous day . . . was that the previous day? How long had I been asleep? “Good, very good. It seems the Nanos have successfully integrated with your system. I wasn’t sure how your biology would compare to our own, but it seems that following the Nano infusion, our biologics are now identical.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  “Well, you had an extra organ that I couldn’t identify but it seems your body has successfully broken it down. You were also missing an organ that appears to have grown in quite nicely,” Ward answered.

  “I gained an organ?” I asked.

  “Mmm, you did indeed,” Ward said with a nod and a friendly smile. “Your bio-energy converter has grown in nicely.”

  Bio-energy converter? What was that? Did it have something to do with my new ability? “And what organ did I lose?” I asked. There was only one organ I could think of that was dispensable. I shuddered to think what else I might have lost.

  “I consulted some very old anatomy books. I believe it was called an appendix,” Ward answered.

  I sighed in relief. Of everything that I could have lost and kept living, that was the best option.

  “Now, I am sure you have a great deal of questions,” Ward began. “But before we get to that, we need to finish asking you about the events of two weeks ago.”

  “Two weeks?” I asked. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “About two weeks,” Ward answered. “The
Nano Infusion did a number on your body. There were a few times I wasn’t sure you were going to make it.”

  “Two weeks,” I repeated. I tried to look down at my arm for an IV, but they were covered so I couldn’t see anything, not that I could get much of an angle to see by.

  “That is correct,” Ward said. “Again, I will be happy to answer any questions you have, but first, we need to finish discussing what happened to Dr. Portal.”

  “Dr. Portal?” I asked, is that what that guy was called. And wait, was that his real name?

  “Yes, the villain, Dr. Portal. You said that he appeared near you?” Ward asked.

  “Yes, the portal,” I said, pausing. That was still so weird to say or think. “It opened a few feet behind me.”

  Ward nodded, then asked, “And you had never met him before? Maybe an uncle, or a long-lost father or much older brother?”

  “No, I take after my mother. My father left when I was young, but he didn’t have any brothers and neither did my mother,” I answered honestly.

  “And teleportation or Portalmancy don’t run in your family?” Ward asked.

  “What is Portalmancy?” I asked. I had a vague idea.

  “Portalmancy is the ability to open a portal that allows for the instantaneous transit from one location to another. I’ve seen Portalmancers tear through space, open wormholes, summon celestial worms, create an actual door, or use an existing door to create a connection from one place to another. I’ve even heard of one guy that used an old Police Box. Anyway, many methods, same results,” Ward answered. “But you still have not answered my question.”

  “Sorry,” I said with a blink. “No, my . . . I guess, my Earth doesn’t have superpowers.”