The Gathering

by Michael Carroll

  Josh said, “I seem to remember Max making that same suggestion to you about sixteen years ago. You refused. What’s changed since then?”

  “With his mind-control powers, Max was one of the most powerful superhumans. I didn’t trust him. And I was right not to.”

  “But you trust me?”

  Solomon Cord shook his head. “Not yet. But then you’re not the most powerful. Of these new heroes…Butler’s self-obsessed and dangerous. Renata’s got a lot of baggage because of the ten years she lost. Danny…even leaving aside the fact that he doesn’t have any powers, we all remember what happened to his father. Let’s just hope that he only inherited Quantum’s speed and not his instability. Mina’s too self-conscious and Yvonne is too flighty. Colin is the only one of them we can fully trust.”

  Warren grinned. “He takes after his old man.”

  “Colin’s reliable, pretty calm in a crisis, incredibly resourceful…Let’s be honest, Warren, when you were his age, would you have been able to do what he did in Jacksonville? He was completely alone, in a country he knew nothing about, no money, no food…The only thing he had was my name, but he managed to get all the way to Virginia and track me down. And he even picked up an ally along the way.”

  Josh said, “Actually, I’ve got serious reservations about Razor.”

  “I know you do,” Cord said. “But the point is this: of these six new heroes, Colin is the only who has definitely got what it takes. It’s not superpowers that make someone a hero. It’s an instinctive knowledge of right and wrong, and the courage to always—always—stick to what you know is right, no matter what the consequences might be.”

  As Solomon Cord flew the StratoTruck toward the heart of Topeka, Colin looked around at the other teenagers. They were all wearing their new black uniforms. Yvonne and Mina were so close in height and build that with their masks on the others were having trouble telling them apart.

  “We definitely need some sort of symbols!” Colin said. “Yvonne, what’s your superhero name?”

  “I’m Mina.”

  “Oh, right. Sorry. So what name are you using?”

  The girl shrugged.

  Yvonne said, “She doesn’t have one. We’ve never been able to come up with a good name for either of us. I want a name that sounds cool and describes what I can do.”

  “Yeah, but what can you do?” Butler asked, then quickly added, “What I mean is, Renata can turn herself into a diamond-hard substance, so Diamond is a good name for her. But what about the rest of us? We need names that are relevant to something that makes us different from each other. I was thinking of calling myself Force Field, but…It sounds kinda lame.”

  Renata said, “Your force field appears like a giant bubble, right? So that’s what you call yourself: Bubble.”

  The others laughed.

  Yvonne said, “He’s right about me though. I can’t go calling myself Brainy or something like that. And Thalamus has already been used. I want a name like Sage, but people would just think of herbs.”

  “Maybe you and Mina could be Sage and Onion?” Butler suggested, laughing.

  “I don’t think we need your help to solve this one, Bubble.”

  Butler looked disgusted. “Yeah, very funny. Joke’s over.”

  “Are you still going to call yourself Kid Titan?” Yvonne asked Colin.

  “It’s Titan, not Kid Titan!” he replied. “No one can ever get that right!” He sighed. “You know, maybe I will change it. Yeah, I will. From now on, I’m not Titan anymore. I’m going to pick a new name.”

  “One minute!” Cord called. “Prepare yourselves!”

  “We’re ready,” Colin said, pulling on his mask.

  “You know the route. It shouldn’t take you more than an hour. Caroline’s back in Ops; she’ll be monitoring your positions and keeping you up-to-date over the radio.”

  Cord maneuvered the StratoTruck until it was hovering four meters over the roof of a tall building. “Here’s your first surprise: I’m not going to land. You’ll have to jump.” As he spoke, the hatch opened and freezing air rushed into the vehicle.

  Renata went first. She stepped out and turned herself solid, crashed to the snow-covered roof below and turned human again.

  Butler followed her, his transparent, flexible force field appearing around him as he dropped.

  As Yvonne, Mina and Colin jumped down, the StratoTruck rose into the night sky and vanished.

  “All right,” Colin said. “I have absolutely no idea where we are. Anyone?”

  His mother’s voice came over the radio. “You need to go north from your position, Colin.”

  “Yeah, but which way is north?”

  “Look around: there should be a tall building with twin spires. That’s directly to your east. You can work out the rest from there.”

  “Thanks, Mum.”

  “You’re welcome. Now we expect you to be able to do the rest of this patrol without any help from us. You’re on your own, in other words.”

  Colin walked to the edge of the building’s roof and pointed across the street. “We have to get over there. Any ideas?”

  Yvonne said, “We climb down the fire escape, cross the street and climb back up the other fire escape.”

  Renata turned to Butler. “How big can you make your force field?”

  “Pretty big. I’ve never really tested it for size.”

  “And does it have to be round?”

  “Any shape I want, but I have to be on the inside.”

  “Here’s what we’ll do then. You turn on your force field to cover all of us, extend it across the street to the other building and we’ll walk across.”

  “Then how do I get over?”

  “You walk across on the inside of the force field.”

  “But when I move, the force field moves with me! To keep it in one place I’d have to move it backward at the same speed as I move forward…” Butler peered down over the edge. “We’re about fourteen floors up. If it fails…No, I can do this.” He frowned in concentration.

  Colin noticed that the wind suddenly stopped. He looked around and saw that they were all now inside what appeared to be a giant, flexible glass shell. As they watched, one side of the shell stretched out over the street and on to the roof opposite.

  “Someone want to test it?” Butler asked, his voice strained.

  Renata said, “I’ll do it. I’ve got the best chance of surviving the drop.” She crouched at the edge of the roof and reached down with her hand. “Seems solid enough.” Taking a deep breath, Renata stepped out. The force field gave slightly under her weight. It felt like walking on a thick rubber mat. “It’s working!”

  She quickly ran across to the opposite roof and the others followed. Colin looked back at Butler and flipped the switch on his radio. “You OK for this?”

  “I can do it.”

  The force field shimmered and shifted as Butler began to move, but it held. As he stepped on to the roof next to the others, Butler allowed the force field to drop. “That was pretty cool!” he said.

  “Nice work, Bubble,” Yvonne said, grinning.

  “Do not call me that!”

  Most of the new heroes were freezing by the time they had made their way back to their starting point. Colin was the only one who didn’t seem to be affected by the cold.

  The snow started falling again as they waited for the StratoTruck to return. Butler sheltered them with his force field, opening it briefly every couple of minutes to replace the stale air.

  When the StratoTruck arrived and the others were climbing on board, Renata held Colin back. “I’ve got something to show

  you,” she said as she led him to the edge of the roof. She put her right hand on his shoulder as she pointed down to the ground with her left. “Look.”

  Colin looked. He always felt a little uncomfortable being so far from the ground. “What?”

  Renata pushed.

  Colin barely had time to see the look of anticipation on her
face before he was suddenly tumbling down through the air. Oh crap! I’m going to die!

  “Fly, Colin!” Renata shouted. “Fly!”

  You can do it! His mind screamed. Fly! Fly! Fly! FLY!

  Colin hit the ground facefirst.

  12

  GOD, THAT HURTS! COLIN SAID TO HIMself. Am I alive? Must be if it hurts.

  His father’s voice said, “Didn’t work, huh?”

  Colin painfully raised his head to see Warren standing in front of him wearing a heavy overcoat and a woolen hat. He pulled his hands out of his pockets, then reached down and helped Colin to his feet.

  From behind them came a resounding crash. They turned to see Diamond—in statue form—topple over on to the street. A second later, she glistened and turned back to her normal self, then stood up.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” Colin shouted at Renata.

  She shrugged. “We thought it would be a good idea.”

  “A good idea? Look!” Colin pointed up. “That’s where we were! Fourteen floors up! And you pushed me!”

  “I see it didn’t do any damage to your complaining glands,” his father said.

  “Dad, I could have broken my neck!”

  “But you didn’t.”

  “The two of you, listen to me very carefully: I. Cannot. Fly.”

  “Well, we know that now,” Renata said.

  “You think I haven’t tried? I try every day! I do it the clever way, by trying to take off from the ground.”

  “Is your headset still intact?” Warren asked. “Caroline, can you hear him?”

  Caroline’s voice said, “There’s a sort of high-pitched squealing coming through. So yes, it’s working fine.”

  “Great,” Colin said sulkily. “You’re all against me.”

  “Hold the chatter,” Caroline said. “I’m getting a report of a disturbance three blocks east of your position. Go and check it out.”

  Renata looked around. “Which way is east?”

  “That way,” Colin said, pointing.

  “Make it fast,” his mother said.

  Leaving Warren behind, Colin and Renata started to run along the deserted street. This is why we need Danny with us, Colin said to himself. He’d be there and back by now, if he had his powers.

  “What’s the situation, Mrs. Wagner?” Renata asked as she ran.

  “It’s a domestic disturbance. A known wife-beater. A lot of shouting, glass breaking.”

  “Do we have the right to enter someone’s house?”

  Colin said, “Let’s just make sure that everyone is safe. Then we can worry about whether we’re trespassing.”

  They rounded the last corner on to a quiet, dark street. Six-story-tall tenement buildings loomed over them. “We’re here. What’s the address?”

  “Number three-seventeen, second-floor apartment, at the front.”

  “I see it,” Colin said. “I’ll take care of it.”

  Colin dashed across the street. I might not be able to fly, he said to himself, but I’m strong enough to jump! He leaped on to the iron railings in front of the building. The window above his head was open and a light was on. As he was about to leap, Renata shouted, “Wait!”

  At that moment, another scream echoed through the street. Don’t have time to wait, Colin thought. He crouched and jumped—diving straight through the open window. His hands hit the rough, bare floorboards and he flipped over on to his feet.

  Right in front of him, a large heavyset man had his arms wrapped around a scared-looking woman.

  Without a word, Colin grabbed the man, lifted him off his feet and threw him to the floor. “How does that feel?” Colin asked. “You like being on the receiving end of a beating for a change?”

  Something bounced off Colin’s head, but he barely noticed it. “You think it’s OK for someone who’s strong to pick on someone who’s weak? Because from where I’m standing, you’re the weak one. You ever lay a hand on this woman again and you’re going to have a hell of a time trying to pick up your teeth with broken fingers!”

  “Leave him alone!” the woman screamed. He turned to see that she was hitting him across the head with a ceramic lamp.

  “Please stop that,” Colin said. God, I’ve read about how abused wives sometimes stand up for their husbands, but this is crazy! She kept hitting him. “Stop, please.” The lamp finally shattered across Colin’s face. “I promise that you’re safe now. He won’t hurt you again.”

  “He has never hurt me!”

  “Um…Are you sure?”

  “What do you mean, am I sure? We’ve been married for twenty-six years! He’s never so much as raised his voice to me!”

  Colin cringed. “But…There was a police report. About a domestic disturbance.”

  “Yes! Next door! We’re the ones who called the cops!”

  “Your light was on…,” Colin said, realizing that it was a very weak argument.

  “Sure it was. The noise next door woke us up.”

  Caroline’s voice came over the radio. “You got the wrong apartment, Colin!”

  “Aw crap!” He looked sheepishly at the couple. “Sorry about that.”

  “Renata’s already taken care of it,” his mother said.

  “OK. Thanks.”

  The woman was helping her husband into a chair. “Who are you talking to?”

  “My mo…” Colin paused. “Er…Headquarters. Sorry about the mistake.”

  “No harm done,” the man said. “And you meant well. What’s your name, son?”

  “Wait a second,” the woman said. She stepped up to Colin—she was a little taller than him—and looked closely at his face. “It’s hard to be sure with your mask on, but it’s you, isn’t it? Rube, this is the new Titan!”

  Great, Colin thought. I decide I’m going to change my superhero name and then someone finally gets it right! “Uh, no, I’m not Titan. I’m new at this. As you can tell. Sorry again about the mistake.”

  There was a screech of tires from outside and the room was filled with flashing blue and red lights. Colin looked out the window and saw Renata pushing a scrawny, wild-looking man out to a waiting squad car.

  Rube stood next to Colin, looking out. He rested his hand on Colin’s shoulder. “So you got the wrong apartment. At least you tried. You did more than most people do.”

  “What is your name, anyway?” the woman asked.

  Colin shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet.”

  The helicopter swooped so low over the trees that Dioxin was sure he’d be able to hear the branches hitting the landing struts any second now. Far ahead, he could see the lights of the small airport.

  He glanced around. The copter was filled with mercenaries, a handpicked team. Dioxin had worked with all of them before at various times. He knew all their strengths and weaknesses.

  The pilot said, “Three minutes! Hold tight.” The copter swerved to the left and began to drop.

  “All right, people!” Dioxin shouted. “You know the job. We go in hard and fast. I want a high rate of property damage and casualties. In and out as fast as possible. Got me?”

  As one, the soldiers nodded an affirmative.

  “You’ve been briefed on the two targets. Find them first; separate them from the others. Shoot them if necessary but do not kill them! Anyone else is fair game. Remember, this is a PR exercise. We want them to know what hit them.”

  The pilot’s voice said, “We’ve got their attention. ATC is ordering us to back off.”

  “Ignore them!” Dioxin shouted. “Continue as planned!”

  “Wilco.”

  The copter touched down right outside the passenger terminal. “Go!” Dioxin shouted.

  He watched as the soldiers leaped from the copter and burst into the terminal, guns firing. Even over the roar of the rotors, he could hear screams from inside the building. He counted to twenty, then followed them.

  Even though only seconds had passed, the terminal was almost completely gutted. There were bodies everywhere.
Dioxin looked around. “No one left for me?”

  “No, sir,” one of the mercenaries replied, “just the two targets.” He gestured toward a middle-aged man and woman lying on the floor. “Unconscious. Nonlethal wounds.”

  “Good work.” Dioxin strode through the wreckage, stepping over the bodies, occasionally prodding one with his foot. Satisfied, he turned to the nearest mercenary. “Make the mark.”

  The man looked around and spotted a blank wall that was relatively undamaged and free of blood-splatters. He unclipped a can of spray paint from his belt and began to scrawl a message.

  “If you don’t want to be Titan anymore, Col, I’ve got a good name for you,” Razor said over breakfast the next morning. “Pancake!”

  “Let it go, Razor,” Colin said, spooning up the last of his cereal.

  “How about…The Apologizer!”

  Danny laughed. “Gravity Boy!”

  Stephanie said, “I’ve got it…Downfall!”

  This sparked another round of laughter from the group. Despite his embarrassment, Colin couldn’t help smiling at that one.

  Yvonne said, “Forget about it, Colin. I’m sure that every superhero has a night like that when they’re starting out.”

  “Thanks.”

  “No problem. Roadkill.”

  Everyone erupted again.

  “God, you lot are so immature!” Colin said. He looked at Razor. “Especially you. Garland.”

  Razor almost dropped his coffee cup. “What did you just say?”

  “Nothing. Garland.”

  The older boy’s eyes blazed. “Who told you?”

  “Who told me what, Garland?”

  “Oh, for the love of…It was Sol, wasn’t it? I begged him not to say anything!”

  Grinning, Colin said, “So what’s your middle name, Mr. Lighthouse?”

  Razor slumped forward and put his head in his hands. “I can’t believe he told you that too!”

  To the others, Colin said, “The first time I met Mr. Garland Lighthouse here he refused to tell me his real name. Now we know why.”

  They all jumped when an alarm rang out.

  “What the hell is that?” Butler asked.

  Josh’s voice boomed out of some hidden speakers. “This is a priority-one alert! All senior members to Ops immediately!”