by Lucas Flint
“Do you think she'll recover, at least?” I said.
“Of course she will!” Carl said. “She has nothing but the best medical care that the House can give her. Trust me, she has nothing to worry about.”
I nodded again, but said, “I want to go see her anyway. I want to talk with her about some things.”
“Do you want me to call the rest of the team to the medical station, too?” said Carl.
I shook my head. “No, but tell them to be in the Meeting Room in an hour. I want to speak with Blizzard in private for the moment.”
“Sure thing, boss!” Carl said. “Talk to you later!”
It took me only a few minutes to reach the medical station. There I found Blizzard just as Carl said; lying in her bed, looking weak and tired, but still alive and still breathing, thankfully.
When I entered, she raised her head to see me and said, “Bolt? Is that you?”
I nodded as I walked over to her bed. “Yes. I just got back from California. How do you feel?”
Blizzard just groaned. “Not that good. I lost control of my ice powers again. Carl said I would have froze to death if you hadn't knocked me out.”
“Looks like I did the right thing, then,” I said as I stopped by her bed and looked down at her. “Did you hear what Mecha Knight said about you earlier?”
Blizzard nodded sadly. “Carl told me when I woke up. Told me about how, if I lost control again, Mecha Knight would kick me off the team.”
Blizzard sounded heartbroken about that. She wasn't even looking at me. She was looking to the right, away from me, and sounded close to tears.
“I know,” I said. “But I hope you won't let that affect you. You just need to rest and take it easy, not worry about what may or may not happen in the future.”
“Easy for you to say,” said Blizzard. “You've never lost control of your powers.”
“Well, actually, I did,” I said. “I punched a guy through a wall without meaning to once. He didn't like that.”
“But you have much better control over them now,” said Blizzard. She looked at her hands in disgust. “I don't even know what that thing was. It was like I just lost consciousness. I don't even remember it much. I just remember feeling cold and angry.”
“Yeah, I was wondering what that was back there,” I said. “I've never seen something like that. Your eyes were glowing like there was a light show going on in your head.”
“I'm not sure,” said Blizzard. She hit her bed in frustration. “It could have been anything. Maybe there's a monster deep down within me that just wants to freeze everything and turn the whole world into a winter wasteland.”
“Whatever it is, I'm sure you can control it,” I said. “If you want, you can stay off field missions for now. You can just stay here in the House and train as much as you want until you get control over your powers. That way, if you do lose control, you won't hurt many people, if anyone at all.”
“Are you saying I should just be a burden to the team?” said Blizzard, looking at me in shock. “I want to contribute. I don't want to stay here in the House sitting around uselessly while you guys go out and fight actual villains.”
“You're not going to be a burden,” I said. “It's just a temporary measure until you gain control over your powers. Besides, you can keep Carl company. You know how lonely he gets whenever we're out fighting bad guys.”
Blizzard grimaced. “But what if the others look down on me for it? I just don't want to look so weak. No one else is suffering from this kind of problem and no one else is at risk of being booted off the team if they lose control of their powers.”
“No one will think you look weak,” I said. “We understand. Everyone knows about your problem. And it isn't really your fault, anyway. It was that woman who reprogrammed the robots to kill us. The stress of the attack probably just stressed you out.”
“Did you find out anything about her when you went to the New Heroes' base?” said Blizzard.
I shook my head. “No. The New Heroes denied knowing anything about her. So did the Midnight Menace, who I got to speak to when I went there.”
“Do you think they were lying?” said Blizzard. “Carl showed me the footage of the woman reprogramming the robots. I saw the INJ badge on her shoulder. There's no way she isn't associated with the INJ.”
“I thought the same thing, but now I am not so sure,” I said. “I think there might be someone trying to play the NHA and the INJ against each other. I don't know who or why, but it would explain a lot.”
“Maybe,” said Blizzard, “but either way, that means that there is someone out there who wants to kill us. And they somehow got into the House without even Carl noticing. What if they come back and decide to skip the robots and just kill us in our sleep?”
“Hey, don't worry,” I said. “Carl is probably going to double down on security to make sure that no one who isn't allowed to be in here get past him. Besides, now that we know she was here, it will be much harder for her to get inside and try to get us again.”
“I guess,” said Blizzard, “but I still feel so vulnerable.”
“Don't,” I said. “We're perfectly safe here. I don't know for sure what is or is not going on, but we'll get to the bottom of it one way or another, at least before the Summit.”
Although Blizzard nodded, I could tell that she didn't really believe me. She was so caught up in her own worries and feelings of inadequacy that she probably couldn't see the upside of things no matter what. And I could understand that. There was obviously something deeper going on that neither of us were aware of, but we had only bits and pieces of it that just didn't seem to go together and it might just kill us before we figured it out.
So I said, “Well, that's all I wanted to talk to you about. I'm going to go and tell the others what I learned in California. You should just rest for now.”
“Okay,” said Blizzard, her tone still depressed. “I guess I'll stay here. At least if I'm resting, I won't risk losing control of my powers and killing everyone.”
I didn't know what to say to that. I just turned around and left, feeling more determined than ever to find out who that woman was and where she was.
Because one way or another, I was not going to let the lives of any of my teammates be put in unnecessary danger in our own base ever again.
Chapter Thirteen
An hour later in the Meeting Room, I told the others everything that happened in the Cavern. Though everything I told them was shocking, the one thing that got the most reaction out of everyone was the fact that I actually met the Midnight Menace. They acted like I had seen Bigfoot, but they were interested in the other things I told them about, especially the secret room I found in the bottom floor and my clash with Shade over the Project Neo documents.
None of them seemed to believe me when I told them that the Midnight Menace and Strike denied knowing anything about the mysterious woman. Talon even went as far as to claim that they had lied to me and were obviously planning to kill us again. Even Treehugger, as understanding and trusting of others as she usually was, didn't seem convinced that they were telling the truth. I wasn't sure what to believe myself and I didn't tell them what to believe, because at this point it seemed like anything was possible until we got more facts.
Because there wasn't much else to discuss or do until the Leadership Council came to a decision about what should be done, I ended our meeting early and we all went back to doing the things we were doing before. I, however, went back to my room, mostly because I needed to talk with Dad alone.
When I returned to my room, I locked the door, sat down on my bed, and called Dad on my suit-up watch. I hoped he was available and was pleased when Dad's face appeared on my watch's screen.
“Kevin!” said Dad. “How are you? We haven't spoken in a while. What's been going on in Hero Island? Sudden influx of supervillains in New York that requires your attention?”
I quickly explained to Dad everything that had happened recen
tly, starting with the reprogrammed killer robots and ending with my meeting with the Midnight Menace in the Cavern. Dad listened patiently, but I could tell that the entire situation bothered him greatly. Not shocking, given that I was bothered as well.
“This isn't good,” said Dad when I finished. “I'm glad to hear that your teammate is recovering, but I find the idea that someone from the INJ tried to kill you and your friend to be horrendous.”
“They might not be from the INJ,” I said, though I recognized how feeble my protest sounded. “Could be a set-up.”
“I would like to agree with you, but sadly, this type of behavior from the INJ wouldn't surprise me,” said Dad. “An organization's tone and behavior is set by the top and the Midnight Menace is at the very top of the INJ, having founded it after he quit the NHA.”
“Are you telling me that the Midnight Menace sometimes tries to kill people like this?” I said in shock. “Like an assassin?”
“As far as I know, he hasn't actually tried to assassinate anyone in the NHA before,” said Dad. He frowned. “But I remember when he first joined the NHA, how many of his own enemies kept mysteriously either dying or being tortured into insanity. He never denied or confirmed that he had anything to do with the gruesome fates of his enemies in his hometown, but the rest of us always knew even if we could never prove it.”
“What?” I said. “If you suspected the Midnight Menace of murdering and torturing people, then why was he on the NHA in the first place?”
Dad looked down and sighed. “Because we wanted to keep an eye on him. You see, I knew the Midnight Menace before he joined the team.”
“You mean you know his secret identity?” I said.
Dad shook his head. “No. He never trusted me that much. But every now and then we'd work together to take down a supervillain, since our paths tended to cross more often than not due to the fact that we operated in the same general area. I recruited him into the NHA because I hoped that exposure to the others would tame him a bit. You know, positive peer pressure.”
“Did it work?” I said.
Dad laughed. “Nope. From day one, his brutal methods made him clash with the others. Omega Man in particular disagreed with the complete and utter lack of mercy he showed toward criminals and supervillains. The Midnight Menace even challenged Omega Man to a duel, but I managed to stop them before they could wreck half of New York.”
“Is that why he left the NHA?” I said. “Because everyone disagreed with his methods and didn't like him?”
“Actually, no, that wasn't it,” said Dad, “though it probably played a part. The real reason was more complicated. And I have to admit, I can't help but wonder sometimes if he had a point.”
“What was the real reason he quit?” I said. I felt a chill run up my spine. “Was it because of Vision?”
“No, Vision had nothing to do with it,” said Dad. “It happened early on in the history of the NHA, shortly after Mr. Miner created Hero Island and the organization established itself as a real force for justice in the world. The NHA had about fifty members at the time but was growing fast and starting to attract the attention of the federal government in a serious way.”
“What do you mean?” I said.
“I mean that the federal government was starting to consider us a potential threat,” said Dad. “Think about it. We were a team of fifty or so human beings with powers far beyond anything even the largest government in the world can dream of. We were not under the authority of the federal government or any other government on the planet. We were essentially an NGO, but unlike other NGOs, there was really no limit to what we could do with our power. If we wanted, we could either destroy the world or conquer it.”
“Did the government try to shut you down?” I said.
“No, but we were aware that they might,” said Dad. “It didn't help that a lot of people were still distrustful of superhumans at the time, so Omega Man decided to make Hero Island part of US territory. That meant that US laws, regulations, taxes, and so on all applied to our island, though there were a few exceptions made due to the unusual status of the place.”
“Why did Omega Man do that?”
“To calm down the fears of both the people and the government that we were planning to take over the country,” said Dad. “By agreeing to follow the law and pay taxes, Omega Man hoped to improve the image of not just the NHA, but the superhuman community in general in the eyes of the population. After all, if we paid taxes like everyone else, then that meant we recognized the legitimacy of the government and were not going to overthrow it or control it for our own personal gain.”
“I get it,” I said. “So what was the problem?”
“The problem was that it was a very controversial move at the time,” said Dad. “About half of the NHA disagreed. They feared that it would lead to the NHA becoming essentially another government program or department, because they feared that the federal government would increase its overreach and power over the organization if we paid taxes to it, making it impossible to fight supervillains effectively. They thought the NHA would become just another version of the G-Men and that its members would become dogs of the government, even though the NHA hadn't actually ceded authority to the feds over its internal laws and organization and still hasn't.”
“So what happened?” I said.
“There was a split,” said Dad. “Half of the organization, led by the Midnight Menace, quit the NHA and went to California to make their own independent team of neoheroes that paid no taxes and was beholden to no government in the world. Omega Man tried to convince them to stay, but they wouldn't listen.”
“What did the government try to do?” I said. “Did they try to force the INJ to pay taxes like the NHA?”
“No,” said Dad, “though there are a lot of people in the government who would like that. See, the INJ has kept the location of its base a secret, because if it was found, then the government would likely attempt to seize it and tell the INJ that they have to pay taxes if they wish to continue to operate on US soil.”
“Does that make the INJ a criminal organization in the eyes of the government, then?” I said.
“Perhaps,” said Dad. “I'm not sure. The law is murky there and I'm no lawyer. All I know is that the INJ is hostile to the G-Men and the NHA and is incredibly secretive as a result. That's what makes the upcoming Summit so interesting, actually, because it will be the first time that the INJ has agreed to meet with the NHA on peaceful terms like this.”
I nodded, but then remembered something. “Oh, Dad, I just remembered. The Midnight Menace told me to give you a message before I left the Cavern.”
“A message? For me?” said Dad. “What is it?”
“He said he wanted to see you at the Summit,” I said. “He said that it has been a while since he saw you and he wanted to see you again.”
Dad's face became as unreadable as stone. “Really? He sad he wanted to see me again?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“Is that all he said?”
“Yes,” I said. “Does that mean you're going to be at the Summit?”
I wished I could read Dad's expression, because even without his helmet, he could mask his thoughts very well.
“Maybe,” said Dad finally. “It has been a while since I last saw many of my old friends. But like I said, your mother's and my anniversary is on that day, so it's unlikely that I will be there.”
“Okay,” I said. “But if you do come, I'd like to introduce you to the team. I'm sure they'd like to meet you.”
“Sounds great,” said Dad. “By the way, have you called Malcolm or Tara yet? Spoken to either of them at all?”
My face felt hot as I said, “Um, well, no. I've just been so busy over the past week or so, what with fighting killer robots and exploring abandoned government facilities, that I just haven't found the time to do that yet.”
“I see,” said Dad, which was Dad's way of saying I don't believe that excuse. “Well, I
can't make you do anything, but I know from experience that you can't ignore friendships for too long if you want them to last. Friendships are like roses; if you ignore them for too long, they'll eventually decay and die.”
“That doesn't sound like something you'd say, Dad,” I said. “That was almost poetry.”
Dad shrugged. “How do you think I won your mother's heart? Anyway, that's just some food for thought. I need to get back to work now, so we can talk again tomorrow sometime. Keep me updated about the things we talked about today.”
“Sure,” I said.
The screen on my suit-up watch went blank, but I continued to stare at it anyway, because now I had to call Malcolm and Tara whether I wanted to or not. Dad's words were stuck in my mind like gum on the heel of a shoe. I didn't even have a very good excuse for putting it off, because I had nothing else planned for the rest of the day, no other obligations that might realistically take precedence over a phone call with a couple of friends.
Hoping that they weren't too angry, I decided to call Malcolm first. I was closer to him than I was to Tara, so I figured that he would be the least annoyed with me of the two for not calling them right away. He might even be really excited if I told him about some of my recent adventures, so excited he might forget about how annoyed he was that I hadn't called him as soon as I could.
So I pulled up Malcolm's number and called him on my suit-up watch. It rang for a few seconds and almost made me believe that maybe he wasn't available, at least until I heard a click and Malcolm's voice came from my watch saying, “Hello?”
“Hey, Mal,” I said. “It's me, Kevin. Long time, no talk, eh?”
There was silence on the other end for a moment before Malcolm said, “Hey, Kev, what's up?”
Uh oh. I could tell he wasn't his usual upbeat self. I wasn't sure if that was because I hadn't talked to him in a while or if maybe there was something else going on in his life that made him sound less-than-happy to hear from me. I decided to go with the latter for now.
