Benny snatched the hall pass out of Tatti’s hand and walked towards the door.
“Oh, and Benny? You might want to wear matching socks next time.”
“Huh? How did you notice…?”
The woman’s only reply was an obnoxious snicker planted on her face.
“Oh. Right. ‘The Noticer.’ Geez, you’re annoying…”
With that response made, Benny was glad to exit the guidance office and head towards whatever awaited him for the rest of the school day. Almost anything was better than being in the presence of The Noticer.
***
Rutger Kaiser found himself willfully strolling up the northern end of Prospect Avenue. A fiendish beam adorned his pock-marked face, which exposed his crooked, yellowing teeth to anyone who may have had the happenstance to pass him on the street. But none did so this early in the morning, as he made a point to be out just before the sun had fully risen.
It was time to put the Odic-energy channeling suit he had created to a small test outside of laboratory conditions. And what better test, he mused, than using it to silence the annoying old dog that ran to the edge of his owners’ fence and barked at the scientist every time he walked past each day. It seemed like that damn dog was always outside, as if the owners wanted the animal to send an unfriendly message to any passerby who had the temerity to walk past the metal gate surrounding their yard.
Let us see how that beast enjoys being on the receiving end of another’s hostility, Kaiser thought to himself. Oh yes, let us see! The embittered scientist couldn’t help giggling aloud like a child anticipating a desired birthday gift at the thought of what he was about to do.
Kaiser’s stride was slow but methodical as he approached the corner to the street where the house in question was situated. He was dressed in a long, dingy brown trench coat that he didn’t wear often, and a large fishing hat that mostly concealed his unruly mop of graying brown hair. He wore a pair of bifocals that were much more conventional than the specialized goggles he designed and usually had over his eyes. He hoped that he wouldn’t be so easily recognized in this irregular garb, in the unlikely case a neighborhood busybody happened to be up unusually early this morning to witness the imminent test.
Kaiser finally turned the corner onto Prospect where the offending house with its rusty metal fence surrounding the yard was located. As per usual, the old white dog darted to within an inch of the fence’s enclosure and began barking at Kaiser as if he was some type of common undesirable (as opposed to the very atypical undesirable that he was). The canine pushed his two front paws against the fence repeatedly as he yelped, as if to emphasize how much he desired to get past the enclosure to the man on the other side.
“I have a surprise for you today, you filthy animal,” Kaiser said with a churlish grin.
As dog yipped away in protest to the fact that the man stood in front of the fence rather than just walking by, the scientist removed his glove and rolled up the right sleeve of his trench coat. Upon doing so, he exposed the shimmering blue gauntlet of the suit he created. As he practiced numerous times over the past week, Kaiser focused his thoughts into summoning forth the powerful energies stored within its specialized circuitry, a technical innovation he could only have perfected following the change in physical laws initiated by the Warp Event.
Since Odic energies were so receptive to human thought and imagination, spirals of crackling energy began arcing about from the fingers of the glove, seeming to change from multi-colors to a bright solid orange every few seconds. The sight and “feel” of those energies terrified the dog, who added impassioned whining to his yelps.
Kaiser uttered that horrific giggle of his again as he forced himself to cease being mesmerized by the energies visibly coruscating from the gauntlet and to instead point his arm towards the now cowering and whimpering canine. The scientist then focused his thoughts to something akin to what a person thinks when they aim to strike at an irksome fly buzzing about their head.
Immediately after the thought passed through his mind, a bolt of pure cascading energy burst from the extended fingers of the gauntlet. This beam melted clear through the metallic loops of the gate as if they weren’t even there and struck the still yelping canine in the side of his body.
The animal let out that familiar whine of pain that one often hears from an injured dog as a full third of his body and the internal organs within were burned away. The agonized whine was a short one, as the canine was dead within a second of being struck. The power discharge was relatively low-level, but it was more than enough to leave the animal a mutilated husk with portions of a charred rib cage and the darkened remainder of his viscera laid visible to the world. The fence sported a still smoking hole three feet in diameter to mark the passage of the destructive beam through its looped metallic mesh.
The satisfied and elated scientist focused his thoughts into those of rapt satisfaction. As he did so, the twirling arcs of energy around the gauntlet faded from visibility.
Kaiser then rolled his sleeve down, put his glove back on, and swiftly but casually turned and walked away from the ruined fence and the smoldering carcass that was once a living, barking dog. A vile smirk contorted his acne-scarred features as he departed the scene of the carnage. One thought flowed through his mind as he did so: Initial field test successful. And with it, came the expiation of an ugly animal that did nothing but take its misery out on others.
The mousy scientist left the vicinity without realizing the unmitigated irony of his last musing.
***
“So, can you explain to me what a hypotenuse is, Mr. Lonero?” queried Benny’s math teacher Dean Zach, determined to make sure that the young man was paying attention (and he usually wasn’t in math class).
“Yes, I can,” Benny replied with an enthusiastic smile. “It’s the longest side of a triangle.”
The expression on Mr. Zach’s face was one of only partial satisfaction. “But what kind of triangle? Not all triangles have sides of equal length, remember? That’s the only hint I’m going to give you.”
The first word that came to mind for Benny was “equilateral,” which he believed he remembered to be a triangle with three equal sides… though something felt wrong about that response. Deciding to conduct a silent experiment, he focused inward, attempting to probe the depths of the universe for a response. His mind was suddenly flooded with a variety of shapes that appeared to be, for want of a better explanation, a wave of Euclidean concepts manifesting in metaphorical imagery that were comprehensible to him on some subliminal level.
“I’m waiting, Mr. Lonero,” Zach lamented impatiently. “Preferably while you’re still young, and I’m not yet old enough to die.”
“He’s an idiot,” Leah Stanton whispered to her friend Darcy Majors, who nodded in agreement.
“A right-angled triangle,” Benny suddenly answered. Whoa, I really seemed to fish the answer out of the universal “database” or whatever you call it.
“Right you are,” Mr. Zach stated with an approving smile. “There’s hope for you in this class yet, Mr. Lonero.”
“I guess I get a cookie then, right?” Benny remarked flippantly.
“He’s such a retard,” Leah said, albeit slightly louder this time.
“Miss Stanton, can you be so kind as to remove yourself from the room?” demanded Mr. Zach.
As Leah opened her mouth to protest, the bifocal-wearing teacher cut her off by saying, “And yes, seriously.”
The young woman simply huffed audibly and stormed out of the room. Darcy gave Benny a menacing look in response, which he met with a pungent stare of his own.
Shortly afterwards, the class was adjourned, and Benny walked into the hallway to find himself face-to-face with an obviously irate Leah. He turned and walked in the opposite direction, but the angry girl kept her gaze focused on him.
“Don’t even think about it, Miss Stanton,” came a female voice from behind.
Leah turned to find the new g
uidance counselor, Tatti Lawson, leaning against the lockers directly behind her. The girl was unaware that she was facing none other than The Noticer.
“What? I wasn’t doing anything.”
“You were about to. I noticed that you walked out of the room a short while before class ended, and didn’t return to it; instead, you just proceeded to hover around your locker. That indicated you weren’t going to the john or running an errand for Mr. Zach but were told to leave.
“When the class was released, I then noticed you giving Benny Lonero a look resembling that which a cat gives to a mouse just before it’s ready to pounce on the rodent and tear it to bits. The reason you were thrown out of the class then became obvious to me. Based on what I noticed about your expression accompanied by that slight shift in your body language, it’s clear you were contemplating a move towards Benny.”
“I didn’t do anything! And besides, if Lonero didn’t act like such a retard all the time, people wouldn’t hate him so much. You don’t have to deal with him like we do.”
“As if his having to deal with you as a peer doesn’t constitute an ordeal on his part, right? Listen, Miss Stanton, and listen carefully. I know Benny’s way of going about things makes him an acquired taste. He has a lot to learn about social graces. But if you don’t like his personality, then I’ll thank you to just stay away from him and not say anything to him. Trying to hurt someone just because you dislike them is no longer acceptable in this school. If he bothers you first, then you come to me, and I promise I’ll deal with it. But you don’t say anything to him as long as he extends you the same courtesy. Got that?”
“What seems to be the problem here, Mrs. Lawson?” inquired Mr. Zach as he walked out of his room.
“I was just telling Miss Stanton here about some of the changes in the school following the unfortunate incident last week,” Tatti replied.
“To the office, Leah,” Mr. Zach said. “Now.”
“Fine,” the girl responded with more than a hint of attitude.
“I’m glad you noticed that trouble brewing,” Zach said.
“I notice everything, Mr. Zach,” Tatti rejoined with her characteristic smirk.
***
Two classes later, Benny finally came across Craig Minkel in the hallways. The two friends simply looked at each other for a moment, and then Craig turned to move on.
“C’mon, man, I’m sorry about how I’ve been acting lately,” Benny pleaded sincerely.
“Mmm-hmmm,” Craig said as he turned back. “That’s why you used me to cover for your running away, and in return gave me the attitude and the run-around.”
“Look, dude, a lot has gone on since last week.”
“No kidding! And I think you know a lot more about it than you told me so far. Don’t lie to me, man.”
“I’m not going to lie to you anymore, okay? You’ve been practically the only friend I’ve had since I got to this school, and you have a right to know. But I need to tell you that in the privacy of the A.V. Room during study hall. Okay?”
“Why not after school?”
“Because I have to go straight to… where I’ve been staying afterwards, and nowhere else.”
“Which isn’t really your aunt’s house? Which means that’s another thing you’ve been lying about, huh?”
“I promise the lying stops here. You’ll understand why I did that after I tell you what’s been going on, and what type of… changes I’ve been through. Okay?”
The towering, geeky young man sighed at his much smaller friend. “All right, the A.V. Room during study hall. Mrs. Metcalfe will be out half the time, as usual, so you can tell me whatever it is that you have to tell me then. It better be good.”
“You can’t imagine how ‘good,’ dude.”
With that decided, the two young men parted for their respective classes. As they did so, however, they were observed by Leah, Darcy, and Rick, who were congregated at the opposite end of the hallway. And the two outcasts were very much the subject of the trio’s conversation.
“That new security guard has been on my ass big time about messing with Lonero and Minkel,” said Rick.
“Yea, and so has that new guidance counselor,” Leah responded. “They expect us to just ignore them when they act like retards.”
“Well, you two have no idea what I heard,” Darcy said.
“Don’t keep us in suspense,” Leah insisted.
“Hell no I won’t,” the girl with the braided blonde hair replied. “Word is, Lonero and Minkel are responsible for what happened to Mick and Jeff.”
“You’re serious?” Rick said. “How could those two losers have done something like that to them?”
“They couldn’t,” Darcy answered, “but they could have hired someone to do it for them.”
“Seriously?” Rick asked.
“Wait, think about it a minute,” Leah said. “Melissa told me that Benny said things to her about Mick and Jeff’s mothers, or something like that, as if hoping she would get back to them with it. He knew they would come after him if he did that. They knew he had gym class with them last period. Whoever he and Minkel hired must have snuck in the school and took our guys by surprise.”
“But who could they have hired?” Rick queried.
“Word is, it must have been the State Boys,” Darcy said. “That gang has been all over the news! Lonero lives on the West Side, and I hear his neighborhood is close to their territory. He and Minkel probably sold drugs or something to save up enough money or whatever, and then hired members of the gang to… you know, do what they did to Jeff and Mick.”
“Yea, you’re right,” Leah agreed. “And since those nerds know the routines of the security guards, they could have shown those gangbangers how to sneak past and hid them in the boys’ locker room until Mick and Jeff went down there. There was probably like at least six of those guys, with baseball bats and pipes and stuff. Mick and Jeff never had a fair chance!”
“Those assholes!” Rick practically shouted.
“Tell me about it!” Darcy said. “Mick and Jeff are our friends! They were two of the best athletes our school ever had, and they were student council leaders. They did a lot for us and the school. Now they may never be able to play sports again because of what those dickheads did to them!”
“Which leads to an important question,” Leah said, while her eyes squinted in a devilish fashion. “Do we just let them get away with it?”
Chapter 17: Light Stings… All Over the World!
(With major apologies to the 5th Dimension!)
“I need a drink,” Craig Minkel said, as he leaned against the A.V. Room table, apparently to prevent himself from keeling over. “I totally cannot be seeing… what I think I’m seeing.”
He was speaking about the sizzling blue arcs of Odic energy that were manifesting around his best friend Benny Lonero’s tightly clasped fists.
“No, you’re not imagining this, bro,” Benny assured his best mate. “I’m Centurion. The Warp Event that hit Buffalo a few weeks ago did the most incredible number on me.”
Craig pushed himself back into a full standing position, his considerable height made evident in the process. “So… so, you did… you did what was done… to Mick and Jeff?”
“Lower your voice,” Benny reminded his friend quietly but sternly. “Then again, if anyone was within hearing range, I’m sure my ‘cosmic awareness’ would let me know. At least I think it would, anyway; I’m still trying to figure out exactly how it works, and what its limits are. So, in the meantime, we need to be careful about what we say, and where we say it.”
Craig was still attempting to catch his breath and didn’t bother to re-assure his anxious friend that the A.V. room was usually clear at this time of morning and left in his care by Mrs. Metcalfe.
“Dear Jesus, Benny. And you’re… not in jail or wherever they put criminal metahumans these days because of this… ‘Institute?’”
“The Valis Institute, yes. But you can’t mentio
n a word about them either, okay? I’m in their custody, but I have to continue attending school here to keep suspicion off of myself. And I have to report to them after school, and all weekends, for a while yet. They’ve been training me, and helping me to become…”
Benny ceased speaking when he noticed the pale complexion on Craig’s visage appear to grow even more alabaster in tone.
“Are you okay, dude? I know this was a lot to take in, and…”
“A lot to take in? Benny, that’s the understatement of the century. This is, like, neutron star heavy. You not only gained these awesome powers, becoming who knows what in the process, but you… did what you did.”
“Craig, you know what they did to us every day. I lost control when they tried to hurt me again. Okay, I know I provoked them that day, but it would have come to what it did sooner or later anyway. I’m not just making excuses; you know that’s probably true!
“And at the time, I didn’t know about Valis, where I could have gotten help before losing it like I did. But I’m making up for what I did with my efforts as Centurion. I’ve thinned out the activities of the State Boys, and I took out my first metahuman menace recently: that cat-chick who was slashing people up over on Virginia Street. I’m trying to make amends, and I like to think I’m off to a good—if sometimes, um, rocky--start.”
“Benny, considering what’s happened, and what you did… I just need time to take this in.”
The young metahuman began staring at the floor for a few seconds, with an expression that seemed to suggest shame. “I know this is scary. I know this is a lot to deal with. And I know what I did was… out of line. But I promised I wouldn’t lie to you anymore, and I need the support of my best friend. I know I can do good for this world, but I need help. I’ve got too many emotional scars and psychological issues, so I can’t go it alone.”
Centurion- Dark Genesis Page 20
