by Lucas Flint
I was curious about Mecha Knight's first meeting with Blizzard. I knew that Mecha Knight had been the one to recruit the various members of the team, including yours truly, but I didn't know the exact details of each meeting. I guess I assumed that most of them had been like mine, with Mecha Knight meeting me in secret and offering me a position on the Young Neos, but it sounded to me like Mecha Knight's meeting with Blizzard must have been different.
Before I could ask about it, Mecha Knight looked at us again. “I believe that Blizzard has much potential as a superhero, but we cannot let her keep losing control of her powers like this. We were lucky that you managed to stop her, but we can't guarantee that you or anyone else on the team will be close enough to stop her again should she lose control of her powers. If she cannot control her powers, she will be more of a liability to the team than a help.”
“Are you saying we should kick her off the team?” said Treehugger in horror.
“No,” said Mecha Knight. “But the fact is that the rest of the NHA leadership—who are very much aware of what has happened here, thanks to Carl's report—do not feel comfortable with a young and powerful superhero who cannot control her powers being on Hero Island or so close to New York City.”
“So what are you saying we should do?” I said. “Just keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't lose control over her powers again?”
“Yes, but that is not all,” said Mecha Knight. “If Blizzard ever loses control her powers like this again … whether she does it here or elsewhere … and it results in death, injury, or intense property damage, then we will have to take her off the team. For good.”
“What?” said Treehugger. “Mecha Knight, sir, don't you think that's a bit harsh? Where would she go if we kicked her off the team without being able to control her powers?”
“Likely to Ultimate Max,” said Mecha Knight, unfazed by Treehugger's surprise. “It is specially designed to hold all kinds of superhumans. She would be unable to harm anyone there, even if she completely lost control over her powers.”
“But Ultimate Max is a prison for the worst supervillains,” I said. I gestured at Blizzard “Do you really think that she would even survive going there? You know how timid she is. She's just a teenager, even if she is a powerful one.”
“I know, but I am also aware of the potential of her power,” said Mecha Knight. “We cannot have someone like her walking around on her own without any supervision or guidance. If we kicked her off the team and let her free, she would probably cause untold damage to the country or maybe land in the hands of a supervillain that would like to make use of her powers for nefarious reasons. Trust me, there are many villains out there who would like to have a neohero of her caliber on their side.”
“It's still cruel, though,” said Treehugger.
“It is less about cruelty and more about ensuring the safety of society as a whole,” said Mecha Knight. “Blizzard, like the rest of you, is no ordinary teenager. If we kick her off the team, then she needs to be contained no matter what her age is.”
“Yeah, I know, but come on,” I said. “Ultimate Max still seems a bit extreme.”
Mecha Knight just shook his head. “I see you don't understand. Tell me, Bolt, have you ever heard the story of Flame?”
“Who?” I said.
“Flame?” said Shell. “I know who he is. He was one of the founding members of the first incarnation of the Young Neos.”
“Exactly,” said Mecha Knight. “He was around Blizzard's age, but unlike her, he could generate and control flame. He was far braver and more extroverted than Blizzard, but also quicker to anger and foolhardiness. He was easily the most powerful member of the Young Neos at the time, however, and very good at capturing villains, which is why we put up with his arrogance and foolishness.”
“What happened to him?” I said.
“He kept a secret from us,” said Mecha Knight. “He didn't have nearly as good control over his powers as he led us to believe. He could control it at very low levels, such as lighting a candle, but he found it hard to control anything larger than that.”
“Why did he keep it a secret from you?” I said.
“Because he was arrogant, as I said, and he didn't want us putting more supervision on him than he wanted,” said Mecha Knight. “And for a while, Flame didn't cause any terrible disasters until about a year after the team was formed. He and the other first generation members were battling a supervillain on the US/Canadian border who turned out to be a lot more powerful than he first appeared.”
“I read about that,” said Shell. “Can't remember the villain's name, but didn't the battle end with the town they were battling in being set on fire by the villain?”
“That is the official story, the one we and the government—who helped to cover it up—gave to the public,” said Mecha Knight. “But the truth of the matter is that it wasn't the villain who did it. It was Flame, who lost control over his fire powers when he attempted to use them to defeat the villain, who had proven too powerful to be taken down by normal means.”
“Wait, you mean you guys lied to the public about this?” I said in shock. “Why?”
“Because we did not want the public to fear or hate us,” said Mecha Knight. “You have to understand. At the time, the Young Neos were seen as the shining example of well-behaved youth, a glimpse into the next generation of adult superheroes. Even back then, there were still a lot of people who did not trust us, so we wanted them to know that the next generation of heroes would be just as safe as the current one. We thought it would be the best way to battle prejudice against superhumans.”
“Why would anyone think the next generation of neoheroes would be bad?” said Treehugger, tilting her head in confusion. “Weren't they under your control and supervision?”
“Many reasons, but the chief among them is the fear that power corrupts,” said Mecha Knight. “A lot of people, both normal and superhumans, believed that teenagers with super powers needed intense control and supervision so they would not grow up as arrogant and unaccountable vigilantes who did what they wanted regardless of what the laws said.”
“But that hasn't happened,” I said. “Right?”
“Perhaps, but it is a realistic fear,” said Mecha Knight. “Consider how much trouble the average non-super powered teenager gets into. Now imagine if that same teen could fly, read minds, control volcanoes, or rip skyscrapers from their foundations. What adult could ever keep such a teen under control? And if an adult couldn't keep that teen under control, then he would grow up to become someone that no one could control.”
“Oh,” I said. “I see. But what happened to Flame after he lost control of his powers?”
Mecha Knight looked me directly in the eyes. “He died. He was consumed by his own fire and killed and injured hundreds of other people in the process. The entire town was nearly burned to the ground. It took a lot of effort to put out that fire, even with superpowers.”
Mecha Knight sounded like he was recounting something he had witnessed himself, which seemed likely given how old he was. Of course, he spoke as emotionless as ever, which made me wonder if Mecha Knight was ever horrified or scared or excited by anything.
Regardless, I said, “Do you think something like that might happen to Blizzard, if she loses control?”
“Possibly,” said Mecha Knight. “I hope not, because we are going to make sure that she can control her powers, but if she fails, then we will make sure that she cannot harm anyone else with her powers. I just wanted you all to know this so that, if it happens, you will know why.”
I looked at the others. They all looked horrified by Mecha Knight's story, but I thought they were also worried about the same thing happening to Blizzard. Blizzard probably wouldn't catch on fire if she lost control of her powers again, but I bet she'd freeze herself to death, and maybe take other people with her, too. It wouldn't be a good thing either way.
“Now,” said Mecha Knight, “I was told that the
practice bots attempted to kill you and Blizzard.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, nodding. “Carl is currently analyzing the security footage to see if anyone reprogrammed them. He said it will take a couple of hours to do.”
“I see,” said Mecha Knight, which told me nothing about what he actually thought of the situation. “Have Carl send me and the Leadership Council his findings. If someone has indeed been reprogramming the practice bots without our knowledge, then I want to know.”
Mecha Knight turned and left, prompting me to say, “Mecha Knight, where are you going?”
“Back to headquarters,” said Mecha Knight without looking over his shoulder. “The rest of the Leadership Council is concerned about this just as much as I am and would like to know about it. If anything comes up, contact me.”
With that, Mecha Knight was gone, leaving us all alone in the medical station with the still-unconscious Blizzard.
Chapter Six
Waiting over the next couple of hours for Carl to finish analyzing the security footage was hard. I went and got breakfast while I waited, because I was hungry and hadn't gotten anything to eat yet, but I ate it pretty quickly and so still had to wait a while for Carl. The others were just as impatient as me, but there wasn't any way we could make Carl work faster, so we had to wait.
Soon, however, Carl called us to the Meeting Room to show us his findings, where we all went to watch the footage that he had found. He said that he had found something important, but wanted to show it to us instead of just telling us about it because he wanted us to see it for ourselves.
We all sat around the big table in the Meeting Room and turned in our chairs to face the huge TV screen on the other end of the Room. Well, all of us except for Blizzard, who was still in the medical station, but I decided to tell her what we saw later after Carl showed us the footage.
“All right,” said Carl, his voice still peppy. “So I looked at all of the security footage from the last two days, because our records show that the last time the practice bots were given check-ups by the NHA mechanics was two days ago before you fought Enor in the city.”
“So are you telling me that our mechanics are assassins?” said Stinger. He punched his fist into his other hand. “I knew it.”
“Actually, the mechanics have nothing to do with it,” said Carl. “All they did was perform a regular check-up and maintenance. I should know, because the footage didn't show them doing anything they don't normally do. Besides, the mechanics who work on Hero Island have already been vetted and have had their backgrounds checked, so we know they're not secretly supervillains in disguise or whatever.”
Stinger actually looked disappointed by that, but I said, “So what did you find, then?”
“Well, that's what I wanted to show you,” said Carl. “Let me play the footage I found. It's not very long, but it is interesting.”
Immediately, the TV turned on. It showed the black-and-white footage from the security camera; based on the time stamp in the upper right corner, this was from last night, shortly after midnight.
It showed the two practice bots that had tried to kill Blizzard and I earlier standing in their rest stations, where they were hooked up to the walls and inactive, with a ladder leaning against the wall to their right. With their heads resting on their chests, they almost looked like they were asleep, although because they were robots they couldn't, of course, actually sleep.
Then, all of a sudden, someone stepped into frame. It was a woman, that much I could tell, but beyond that, I couldn't tell who she was. She was wearing a black baseball cap pulled firmly down over her face, as well as completely black spandex that looked kind of like ninja clothing. Her back was to the camera, but even if it hadn't been, I could tell that she was wearing a mask that likely protected her face from view.
The mysterious woman carefully made her way over to the practice bots. She stopped every now and then to look both ways, like she was worried someone might see her, but she did not stop or turn around and leave. She didn't move very gracefully, which told me that she probably wasn't used to sneaking around like this.
Once the woman reached the practice bots, she pulled over the ladder next to them and climbed it until she was up to the bots' chests. Then she popped open their chests and started messing with the wiring and stuff on the inside. It was easy to tell that she knew what she was doing, because she didn't hesitate at all as she reprogrammed the bots. She must have had experience with mechanics or something.
In five minutes, the woman was done. She closed the bots' chests, checked to make sure that they were locked, and then climbed down the ladder, which she pulled back to where it was originally. Then she turned and, with her head down, went back the way she came and disappeared off the camera.
Abruptly, the camera paused and Carl said, “And that is what I found. What do you think?”
“You mean that's it?” said Treehugger. She looked around like she expected to see the mysterious woman standing in a corner watching us or something. “Isn't there more footage? Like, maybe footage of the woman sneaking into or out of the House?”
“Nope,” said Carl in a tone that was too cheery for the circumstances. “I checked the security footage of every entrance and hallway in the House, including the basement and rooftop. She doesn't appear on anywhere else.”
“So how did she get into here?” said Stinger. “And how did she escape without being caught on camera?”
“She must have a power that lets her get in and out of places without being seen,” said Shell. “Maybe she can turn invisible or something.”
“But who is she?” I said. “How did she get onto Hero Island without anyone noticing? Seriously, this place is incredibly well-protected. We don't even let pigeons fly here without our knowledge.”
“What if she's still here?” said Treehugger. She looked around again in fear. “What if she's just hiding? If she's invisible, then doesn't that mean that she could still be here even if we can't see her?”
“If she is, we can take her,” Talon insisted. She held up her hands and her claws shot out of her wrists. “And I will be more than happy to introduce her to my fabulous claws for daring to harm two of my dearest friends.”
“Carl, are you sure you haven't detected anything out of the ordinary?” I said, looking up at the ceiling. “At least since last night?”
“Nothing,” said Carl. “It's like she existed just long enough to get in, reprogram the bots, and leave.”
“Have you sent this footage to Mecha Knight?” I said.
“Of course,” said Carl. “In fact, the Leadership Council is actually watching the footage right now and speculating on who she is, but I can't tell you what their theories about her identity are because then Mecha Knight would get angry at me.”
“We don't need to know them,” I said. I tapped my chin in thought. “Hmm … I wonder if there are any female supervillains who are capable of entering and exiting buildings unseen.”
“Isn't there that Shade girl from the G-Men?” said Stinger. “I heard she can travel through shadow and appear almost anywhere she wants.”
“I don't think this woman is Shade,” I said as I leaned back in my seat. “I've met Shade before. From what the footage showed, this woman looks nothing like Shade. We're dealing with someone else.”
Shell opened his mouth to say something, but then he closed it and looked away, prompting me to say, “Did you have something to say, Shell?”
“Well,” said Shell, scratching the back of his head, “uh, I was just wondering … do you think this woman could be with Vision?”
I sat up straight at the mention of that cult. “Why would you think that?”
Shell looked at me this time and spoke in a logical tone. “Well, think about it. Who else hates you enough to sneak into the House and reprogram the practice bots to kill you?”
“Hold on,” said Talon, leaning on the table to look at Shell better, “how do you know that the woman was trying
to assassinate Bolt?”
“Because the robots only turned murderous after Bolt went to train with Blizzard,” Shell explained. “And we all know that Bolt has a lot of enemies, more than the rest of us anyway. We know that Vision really hates Bolt after he helped to thwart their leader's plans to take over the world, so it makes sense they'd try to kill him.”
“I'm still not sure,” said Stinger, tapping his chin. “Vision is a likely candidate, but—”
“And remember, the last incarnation of the Young Neos, the guys before us, were Visionists,” Shell continued. “They probably know the House even better than us. And if they have Hopper and Ghost on their side, it should be easy for them to enter and exit the House without any of us knowing.”
I scowled when I remembered the original Young Neos and how they had tried to kill me. “Even if that's true, that woman didn't look like Incantation, Technical, or Sarah.”
“She doesn't have to be any of them,” said Shell. “She could just be another Visionist who agreed to sneak in and reprogram the practice bots to kill you.”
“Do you think they were trying to kill Blizzard, too?” said Treehugger.
“I doubt it,” said Shell, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose again. “Blizzard isn't their main enemy. She was probably just collateral.”
“Gotta admit, Shell's got a point,” said Stinger. “I know we've tightened up security ever since the last Young Neos were defeated, but it's probably still easier for them to enter or help someone else enter the House than it is for most people.”
“I know,” I said. “Something about this doesn't seem entirely right, though. Right now, Vision is trying to lay low. It doesn't make sense for them to attack me again now, not when everyone knows about them and we're still keeping an eye out for them.”
“It's the best theory we've got, though,” said Shell. He shrugged. “Of course, it could be wrong, but I don't see any reason to doubt it at the moment.”
I tapped my chin and looked up at the TV. “Carl, can you replay the security footage, except slower? Maybe there's a detail we're overlooking that could help us identify the woman.”
