Enhancer

by Wyatt Kane

  Ty thought she was just trying to be kind. Regardless, he certainly wasn’t in the same league as Tempest herself, or the mountain of a man who had murdered Zach.

  “In any event, the important one as far as I’m concerned is your alignment,” Tempest added.

  “Neutral Good.”

  “Yes. Although I’d already figured as much for myself. It means that we don’t have to keep you locked in this room for the rest of your life.”

  Ty couldn’t help himself. He laughed out loud. Then he stopped, taking in Tempest’s expression. She was still smiling, but there was something behind that smile that sobered him completely.

  “Wait – you’re serious?”

  “Well, yes. At least until we could figure out another option. We’ve already got one super powered villain running about with a device on his arm. We don’t want another.”

  Ty stared at her, lost between dismay at how close he’d come to becoming a prisoner on the one hand and intense, ongoing desire on the other.

  But Tempest wasn’t yet done. It looked like she wanted to say something but was unsure how Ty might respond.

  Ty simply waited for her to speak.

  “And that,” she began a little hesitantly, “brings us to my next question. You have the device. Your alignment is neutral good. You have a Unique Skill, even if we don’t know how to use it yet. So, would you like to be part of the team?”

  Ty was astonished. He didn’t know what to say. A day ago, he had been a total loser, no more than a lowly paid, disrespected nobody at the Concubine Club, with no life to speak of, few friends and few prospects. Nothing to look forward to.

  A few minutes ago, he’d been looking at the enhancements the device had given him from a completely self-centered point of view, without any consideration of what it might mean for others.

  Now, with just a few words, Tempest had managed to change everything. Suddenly, all because of the device on his wrist, he could be part of a superhero team, helping to fight crime around the city of New Lincoln. Perhaps not in the role of hero, but didn’t most comic books show that superheroes had sidekicks? Could Ty be one of those?

  Maybe his skill would prove useful enough for that.

  And there was more to it as well. Tempest’s expression was open and obvious. The role of a superhero teammate, even if just as a sidekick, apparently came with benefits which were hard to ignore.

  Ty’s first instinct was to leap at the chance. To be something more than he was, to fight crime at the side of this amazing woman, was beyond his wildest dreams. But the contrary part of his mind wouldn’t stay quiet. There were downsides to consider as well, not the least of which had been highlighted by Zach.

  Zach was dead. Zach Kennedy, a superhero with real powers, the man whose device Ty currently wore, had died in the line of duty. He had been killed by a monstrous supervillain who had been moments from murdering Ty as well. The only reason he had survived was that Tempest had the power to save him.

  Did he really want to be the damsel in distress in their superhero team? Was that what it would amount to?

  There were other considerations as well. Regardless of what he did with this time, he still needed to eat. Still needed to pay his rent and his monthly bills. And try to pay off his debts. Which meant that he needed to maintain an alter ego, which would be his usual self.

  He already worked more hours than he wanted to think about just to scrape by. When would he have the time to fight crime?

  Nor could he easily give up his job.

  The practicalities of the situation were real enough that Ty found himself shaking his head.

  “I can’t,” he said, shaking his head. He couldn’t keep the disappointment out of his voice. “And you don’t really need me anyway. I would just slow you down.” Ty heaved a big sigh, acutely aware that he was passing up an opportunity to get to know Tempest far better than he already did. It was as if somebody had offered Ty the keys to the entire kingdom and he just turned it down.

  Yet he knew it was the right thing to do. “I’m sorry,” he said glumly. “I guess I had better take the device off. Maybe you can find someone with better skills to wear it.”

  There was silence. Tempest’s disappointment was obvious. She wasn’t angry or upset because of his words, just sad. And, in the end, accepting. After a time, she nodded and offered a smile that was a shadow of her usual one.

  But what she said next surprised him. “We can’t take it off. It is bound to you now in the same way that it was bound to Zach, in the same way that mine is bound to me. It will only come off when you die.”

  “You can’t take it off?” Immediately, Ty looked for a way, but there was no latch, no obvious clasp.

  “No. That was part of my father’s design. The nanites are constantly refreshed by the device, which continues to enhance us. That means our skills and capabilities improve over time, but there’s a downside as well. If we were to remove the device, we would suffer a kind of withdrawal. Apparently, it would be painful and debilitating, more so the longer we’ve been wearing it. And there’s another reason. He didn’t want the devices to fall into the wrong hands.” She shrugged. “I guess that worked for a while, at least.”

  Ty was aghast. He was starting to understand the magnitude of what had happened when the device had closed around his wrist. Tempest had not only lost a teammate in Zach, but with Ty wearing the device, the team would remain forever one person short.

  Until Ty died.

  And yet, Ty’s talent was technology enhancement. He liked to tinker with gadgets. If anyone could figure out how to get the device off, surely it would be him?

  He promised himself that he would do so at his earliest opportunity, regardless of the withdrawal he would go through. Then, regretfully aware that his best opportunity with this amazing woman had passed, Ty returned to the practicalities. In a few hours, he would need to go back to work.

  “So, um,” he began. “Am I free to go? Or does that thing about being locked in here for the rest of my life still hold?” He tried to keep his tone light but heard how flat it sounded.

  Nevertheless, Tempest gave him another sad smile. “Of course. Unless you are planning to become the next supervillain?”

  Ty managed a laugh. “I think, even if I was, you could handle me fairly easily.” He wanted to say that he might even enjoy it, but didn’t. He sobered instead. “Sorry,” he blurted. “For Zach, and everything else. Thank you for saving my life. I wish I could have been the person you’re looking for.”

  “So do I,” the amazing woman replied. Then she stood up. “Would you like a lift home?”

  8: An End To The Adventure

  Ty nodded. Given that he had no clue where in New Lincoln he actually was, he did indeed like the thought of getting a lift home. But there was something he had to attend to first.

  “Um, I have to get dressed,” he said.

  Tempest raised an eyebrow and grinned broadly. “Are you shy?” she asked.

  Ty didn’t think he needed to explain how enormously attracted he was to her. Tempest had worked that one out for herself. Yet if he was to remove the covers, the immediacy of that attraction would be readily apparent.

  Instead of answering directly, he just nodded.

  Tempest’s grin grew broader. “Who do you think got you out of your clothes when I brought you here?” she asked teasingly. Yet she didn’t press the issue. She just shook her head in mock disappointment, then stood and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

  Ty watched Tempest’s perfectly formed behind until she was gone. It was mesmerizing. Then he swung his legs over the side of the bed and placed his bare feet on the floor.

  He felt different when he stood. It was as if he was looking at the world from a different height. Nor did his body feel exactly the same as before. He felt lighter. Stronger. He wondered if it was his imagination, or if it was just the difference between being a four and a six in Strength.

  When he put on
his clothes, there was no longer any doubt. His trousers were tighter than they had been, and while they weren’t the best trousers in the world, at least they had fit him well enough. Now, they were a good inch or two shorter than they needed to be, and the seams were straining around his thighs.

  Nor was it just his trousers. It was his shirt as well, which was tight about his shoulders and upper arms, and the top buttons wouldn’t do up. And his sleeves – he couldn’t button the cuff around the device, but that wasn’t a surprise. The surprise was that his arms now stuck out by about the same length as his legs stuck out from his trousers.

  Even his jacket, which had never been form-fitting, was now a size or two on the small side.

  Perhaps his clothing had shrunk in the rain. Yet he’d been rained on before and they hadn’t shrunk then. The only other option was that Ty had somehow grown several inches taller.

  The thought was unsettling, but also enjoyable. He wanted to check himself out in a mirror to see if it was true. He’d always wondered what life might be like if he was a few inches taller and a good deal more muscular. Now it seemed that he had the opportunity to find out.

  At the same time, he wondered what might happen if he did manage to remove the device from his wrist. Would he slowly and painfully shrink back to his normal, weedy self? Or would the height and muscle increase be permanent?

  Either way, it was a question for later. For the moment, it was time to bring this adventure to an end.

  With a heavy sigh, he went to join Tempest.

  <<<>>>

  Getting dropped home was a far different and more enjoyable experience than Ty could have ever imagined. They didn’t travel by bus, subway, or anything else Ty might have thought of as normal.

  Instead, they flew.

  Tempest had mentioned before that she could fly, but with everything going on, Ty hadn’t truly absorbed what that would mean. When they made it out of the building that housed the stunning woman’s safe house, Tempest turned to him with a grin.

  “Buckle up,” she said, and before Ty could respond, she stepped in behind him, unceremoniously gripped him under his arms and hoisted him into the air.

  Ty gave a very unmanly squeal of panic as his feet left the ground, and Tempest laughed out loud.

  Yet Ty wasn’t afraid, exactly. More astonished than anything else. “Up, up, and away,” he said as he gasped for breath.

  “What?” Tempest asked, her lips inches from Ty’s left ear.

  “Nothing,” Ty replied. He was too overwhelmed with what was happening to say anything more. He was flying! Held tightly by Tempest, he rose into the sky as if he was in an elevator that wasn’t there. It was intoxicating and frightening both at once, his heart was pounding in his ears, and he was acutely aware of Tempest’s body pressing against his own. Within a small number of seconds, they were high enough above the tallest buildings that he could see the city laid out below.

  Tempest leaned close. “Which way?” she breathed, her voice full of excitement and joy, with maybe a little pride mixed in for good measure.

  Ty’s thoughts were all over the place and wrapped up with a million emotions as well. He was cold, excited, slightly terrified and astonished. It was beyond exhilarating, and he’d never experienced anything like it.

  Then, all at once, he relaxed. Tempest’s arms were strong and he felt secure. She wouldn’t drop him.

  “I don’t know,” he said to her. “The landmarks are all different from up here. Um, take me back where you found me? I was only a mile or so from my apartment.”

  “Okay, flyboy,” she replied. “But I would hold on to your socks, this is going to get exciting!” With that, she leaned into him, and within moments they were zooming along faster than Ty would have imagined.

  He couldn’t help himself. He didn’t know whether to laugh or to shout out loud. In the end, he expressed himself in the only way he could. He let out a wordless shout of sheer exuberance that shunted all of his worries away.

  <<<>>>

  Ty wished he could stay in the air forever, kept aloft by the fantastic woman pressing against him. But all things must come to an end, and the flight was disappointingly short. Tempest brought him gently back to the ground around the corner from his apartment in an area where there were few people to see.

  Ty was abuzz with the joy of it all. It was as if he had enjoyed the most spectacular amusement park ride that could ever be imagined. Not that he’d ever actually been to an amusement park. He never had the budget for anything like that. Yet he couldn’t imagine any rollercoaster being able to offer the same sort of experience he had just had.

  He stumbled as Tempest started to let him go, so she held onto him for a little longer.

  “Easy there,” she said. “Got to get your land legs working again.”

  Ty would have been more than happy if she never let him go, but when Tempest felt that his balance was back, she stepped away.

  He turned to face her. She looked sad. Wistful. It was more than enough to make him regret his decision. Yet during the flight, he had recognized that the device had not done the same for him as it had done for her. She could fly. The strength in her arms was undeniable. It felt like she had wrapped him in iron as she lifted him skyward.

  He was not even close to being in the same league as her. Not in any way imaginable.

  His rationale for turning her down was as solid now as it had been when he’d done it. He would have been no more than a burden to a team of superheroes. As useless as a noob in a superboss fight. And he would have ended up deader than Zach.

  In the gaming worlds his roommate inhabited, death wasn’t much of a problem. But this wasn’t a gaming world. This was real. Superpowers or not, there was no option to respawn.

  “Thank you,” Ty said again. “I’ll figure out how to get this device off. When I do, I’ll return it to you, and you can give it to someone better be able to use it.”

  Tempest smiled again. “Ty, you are such a cutie,” she said. “The devices also act as a holo-phone. If you change your mind, just choose the Communication option and click my name. Or if you need anything else I might be able to provide.” She said the last with a wink, and Ty again found himself staggered by how impossibly attractive he found her.

  Not that it seemed to matter any more. Ty was a realist. His days of being part of her superhero team were over before they began, and with them, any real chance he had to get to know better.

  Tempest didn’t hang around. She launched herself back into the air. “See you around,” she said, and just like that, she was gone.

  Ty looked around at the same grim, dismal streets that had become all too familiar. His drab existence was calling him. With a heavy sigh, he looked toward his apartment building and started to trudge.

  9: Technological Enhancement

  Ty thought that maybe he should have asked Tempest to drop him off right at his apartment. Maybe hover outside the window so he could climb in. He was on the seventh floor, and the elevator hadn’t worked in years.

  Normally, by the time he made it to his floor, his legs would be shaking and the sweat would be soaking his shirt. But today was different. The Architect’s device had worked its magic. Though not anywhere near as strong as Tempest or the monstrous man who killed Zach, Ty felt fitter than he’d ever felt before. He was barely puffing when he reached his apartment. He felt he could run several miles without serious strain.

  It was a delicious feeling and one that he wanted to savor. Yet everything else about his life remained the same. The apartment building was a squalid place held together by inexpert patchwork and misery. The stairs were in disrepair, and he’d had to skirt around bags of trash that one of his neighbors had decided to leave in the way.

  In days past, there had been other obstacles as well. Drug addicts on the landing. The occasional strange child sitting quietly, waiting for either an argument to finish inside an apartment or for some other illicit activity to conclude.

&
nbsp; Ty held his palm up to the lock at his door and it gave an electronic click of admittance. His apartment was a testament to his position in life. Tiny and cramped, it was little more than 600 square feet of faded walls and tired floors, and in that space, it boasted two bedrooms, a lounge, kitchen, and bathroom.

  There was barely enough room to stand, yet Ty had seen worse. Much worse. And it wasn’t as if he had much choice. This was all he could afford.

  Even so, Ty felt a sense of relief when he entered. Or perhaps it was simply familiarity. It had been only a few hours since his last shift at the Concubine Club had ended, and while it had been the most extraordinary few hours of his entire life, it had also been unsettling on a visceral level.

  The drab familiarity of his apartment was almost welcome. As was the sight of his roommate, Bradley Fletcher, who was plugged into his gaming console as usual and barely glanced up as Ty entered the lounge.

  “Hey,” Brad said. As was his habit, he was wearing a grimy old t-shirt and baggy track pants covered crumbs, and was surrounded by a growing pile of candy wrappers and empty energy drink cans. He looked like he hadn’t moved in days, and that strangely comforting thought brought a warm smile to Ty’s face.

  As professional gamers went, he was far from the top tier who could make millions. His thing was to work as a miner within some of the multiplayer games with large followings, hoping to unearth valuable items to sell. Sometimes he made enough to pay rent for a month in a single strike. Sometimes he could go several weeks without making a cent.

  Those times, life could get interesting for the both of them, but it mostly seemed to work out well enough.

  As was his habit, Brad had his holo-visor down so that it hid most of his face, and was deeply engrossed in one of the games. Yet he still managed to deliver a message.