Super: Origins

by Palladian

  “As far as why someone might get transferred, as you probably read, there are teams like this one across the country. All team members’ abilities are entered into a central database. The sponsors of the other teams can then request a transfer after a team member’s initial three years if they think the team member’s talents would fit into their team well.”

  “I understand the team and sponsors have to agree on the transfer, as well as the person up for the transfer,” Lex replied. “I can tell you right now that this area is my home, and I don’t want to leave. I’d want to quit the team before transferring, but I understand I can’t unless the team and sponsors agree to that, too.”

  Clara shrugged again. “I figured that would be your response, but I don’t see there being a high probability that anyone would request a transfer for you. In general, requests aren’t common, and like I said, I haven’t ever known anyone to be transferred off of this team or to want to quit. At any rate, three years is a long time away, so it’s probably not worth worrying about now.”

  Lex nodded, mentally noting that Clara hadn’t directly addressed her comment about the requirements for leaving the team. “True, but I wanted to get my feelings on the table, so you know where I stand.”

  Clara nodded in return, looking Lex in the eye. “Understood. What else do you have?”

  Glancing at her notes, Lex next asked, “Who is the Confidentiality Officer?”

  “I am,” Clara answered.

  Lex lifted an eyebrow, surprised but now thinking she should have anticipated that answer. “Good. I have some questions about your Confidentiality Agreement. After reading that you could be jailed, probably forever, or killed if you release confidential information about this team, I have to say I’m not comfortable with the idea. Have these penalties ever been enforced against anyone? What if someone makes a genuine mistake?”

  Clara sighed. “Really, the penalties laid out are just to underscore the seriousness of what we’re doing here, and what the outcome could be if someone maliciously let out confidential information about the team. If that happened, you or your teammates could die or be terribly injured on assignment if the wrong information got to the wrong people. My general guidelines to you are to keep secret all information about the agency, your teammates’ abilities, the entire team’s resources in general, and any testing, training, or treatment regimen prescribed to you. As long as you stick to those guidelines, you shouldn’t get into trouble.”

  She paused for a moment then, studying Lex’s expression as if trying to determine whether to continue. “I don’t know of any time the penalties have been enforced against anyone. I do know that there have been a number of times that people have been given warnings on various teams for revealing secret information. So, you won’t be hit with severe penalties right away; you will be given further guidance about what to keep secret. This is to cover the genuine mistakes you asked about. Anyway, I don’t see it as too different than some of the other requirements for secret or top secret positions in the DC area, and perhaps better than some. Does that answer your questions?”

  Lex shrugged. “I guess. The whole idea makes me feel nervous, though.”

  “You’ll get used to it,” Clara said with a nod. “I think it’s like any other change: you just need time to adjust. If you have any more confidentiality questions, feel free to ask me anytime,” she finished, handing Lex a card.

  Lex looked at it; the card had the initials “MSI” and an address, followed by Clara’s name and a telephone number. Filing it in her notebook, Lex continued to review her notes.

  “OK, thanks,” she said with a nod in reply. “Next, I wanted to ask about the section called Testing Informed Consent. I have to say it looked a lot like some of the Informed Consent documents I reviewed during my time at the NIH, like something that medical trial participants would read and sign if they wanted to be in a drug study. Are we expected to participate in things like that here?”

  There was a flash of a look in Clara’s eyes that Lex couldn’t get a good handle on before her work expression replaced it. Fear? Anger? A feeling of being caught? Lex mentally filed that away as she sipped her English breakfast tea and listened to Clara’s response.

  “No, not really. The section is in the contract since sometimes the tests we do here to determine abilities or mark progress are still new and haven’t been used much on humans. Of course, we wouldn’t knowingly do anything to put our people in danger, so we believe all the tests to be safe. But we allow each team member to opt out of any tests we run if they are uncomfortable with them.”

  Lex nodded evenly, watching for Clara’s reactions carefully. “I had one more question about this section. It goes into some detail about the physicians here perhaps prescribing treatments based on the tests run. Why would treatments be prescribed, and are we free to refuse any that we find objectionable?”

  Clara’s expression didn’t change this time; Lex figured that she’d probably determined where the trail of questions might lead next. “Due to the special tests that are run here, sometimes the physicians are able to detect problems that a trip to your ordinary doctor might not uncover. The physicians here are very good at devising curative or preventive regimens to help treat any issues they might detect.”

  Lex nodded again and continued. “But even with that, would we be free to refuse any treatments prescribed for us if we felt uncomfortable with them?”

  Clara sighed. “Of course you’d be free to do that. As a representative of the sponsor of the team, however, I would add that we strongly recommend that all team members take treatments prescribed for them by the physicians who see them. The doctors who will work with you here are among the world’s best, and they only have your best interests in mind when they create treatment regimens for you.”

  “OK, I’ll definitely keep that in mind if the subject comes up,” Lex answered as she studied Clara for a moment before glancing at her notes again. “I did have another question relating to medical treatment. I noticed that one of the benefits is fully covered medical treatment for the rest of our lives, which I definitely approve of. But I did wonder why we have to come here or to another agency’s medical facilities to get treatment. What if you’re far away or you have a life-threatening emergency? Can you still get treatment under this agreement?”

  Clara looked at Lex closely again, as if trying to discern something. “Yes, you certainly can get any type of treatment you need under this agreement. However, due to some of the extraordinary capabilities you and your teammates possess, we want you to be treated by our physicians, who have access to your medical history and know any prior problems you might have. Some of your teammates also have differences in their physiology that regular physicians wouldn’t know how to handle. So, if there is a medical emergency, we’d tell you to go to the nearest hospital, but the instructions those physicians will receive for your care will be to stabilize you so that you can travel to our facilities for treatment. We’ll provide transportation for you to our medical facilities as well, if need be.”

  “All right,” Lex replied, studying Clara’s face again and considering asking some more questions about the physiological differences she’d mentioned, but ultimately deciding against it, since Lex took from the closed look on the woman’s face that she wouldn’t be carelessly giving any more information away today. “Just one more thing. I noted the on-call rules, but it didn’t say whether there are penalties if you aren’t available or are late when on call. Are there any?”

  Clara shrugged. “No. It really hasn’t been an issue up until this point, so we haven’t had a reason to think of any. Should it be a problem for you?”

  Lex shook her head. “No, it shouldn’t be an issue; I just wondered, with the Washington traffic and transit systems being what they are.”

  Clara nodded again, looking at Lex with a wary expression, as if she saw a scorpion about to strike. “You read the paperwork thoroughly, didn’t you?”

  Lex s
hrugged this time. “I had a set number of hours to review the contract, so I didn’t get to read all of it yesterday, but I studied the points that seemed to be most important as thoroughly as I could.”

  “The team hasn’t ever had a good strategist. I think I’ll recommend we consider that as a potential responsibility for you.”

  Lex gave Clara a curious look at that comment before realizing she’d intended to ask something else. “One last thing…can I get a copy of the contract?”

  Clara nodded. “Yes, but it can’t leave this building. Once you’re done reading and signing everything, please put it back in the packet and leave it in this room. After you’ve finished, we’d like you to change into workout clothes and report to the medical wing. Casey can show you down there when you’re ready. Was there anything else?”

  “No. Thanks for answering my questions,” Lex replied just before Clara nodded then turned to leave. Lex wondered if the look of relief she’d seen in the woman’s eyes only existed in her imagination.

  Sighing, Lex turned back to the stacks of papers in front of her. After quickly signing everything she’d read the previous day, since she hadn’t heard anything yet to make her change her mind, Lex consulted her notes, identified which sections she hadn’t read yet, and started to work. Later, while deep into the finer points of the Rules of the Team, Lex heard the door in front of the room bang open and straightened in her chair.

  “Ready for lunch?” Casey asked with a smile. “I can bring some down here, or you can take a break and come up, if you like.”

  Lex shook her head to clear it. “My mind is spinning. Let me finish the page I’m in the middle of, and then I’ll join you. Where will you be?”

  “Well, I was going to eat in the kitchen, unless you prefer eating outside.”

  “Has it cooled down any?”

  Casey laughed. “No. It’s supposed to be a high over 100 today and humid, but it already feels hotter than that. I can’t say I’d recommend lunch outside in that sort of heat because sometimes funny smells come up off the water.”

  Lex grimaced and then smiled in amusement. “Sounds appetizing, but how about I just meet you in the kitchen?”

  “You’re on. See you in a few,” responded Casey as she went back through the door.

  Lex sighed again, finally noticing now that she’d been left alone that the air in the room smelled as stale as the air in her new bedroom had. Eventually she caught back up with the sentence she’d been reading and finished the page minutes later. She stood up as her stomach growled. “All right, all right,” Lex muttered, looking down at her talkative middle, and headed for the kitchen.

  Casey had begun eating and sat at the middle of three stools along the right side of the kitchen island as Lex walked in, smelling something delicious. The blonde looked up when Lex entered the room, smiled, and finished her bite of food. “I made a salad, and there’s pita and hummus to go along with it. Take as much as you like.”

  She’d made a large bowl of salad with some type of grain and tomatoes, peppers, olives, carrots, peas, and small blocks of browned tofu. Lex served some up and took a warmed pita. She sat across the island from Casey and started to eat, thoroughly enjoying the nutty, fresh taste of the salad and the garlicky bite of the hummus.

  “This is great! What’s the grain in the salad, though? I don’t recognize it.”

  “It’s quinoa, one of my favorites because it cooks so quickly and it’s delicious,” Casey replied, looking pleased at Lex’s compliment.

  “Well, thanks for taking the time to make enough to share, and for helping me feel so welcome.”

  “Ah, it’s nothing,” Casey said, waving a hand, but Lex thought she detected a slight blush on her face.

  After eating in silence for a little while, Casey turned to Lex and asked, “So, how did it go with Clara? She can be a little stiff; I hope it wasn’t too boring.”

  Lex lifted an eyebrow and shook her head while swallowing a bite of salad. “No, I can say it was anything but boring. I had a lot of questions after reading the paperwork they sent to me, and I went through them all with her. I figured that once I joined the team the secrecy would end, but there were a lot of things she still didn’t want to tell me about.”

  Casey shrugged. “I wouldn’t doubt it. There are a few subjects she’s always been pretty secretive about, and I’m not sure why. Maybe that’s the way she is.”

  Lex tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. “Maybe. I just felt like she had some weird reactions when I asked her what I thought were simple questions about the contract, though. What did she tell you when you filled out your paperwork?”

  “I didn’t have many real questions when I got here. I transferred in from another team, so it was pretty minimal.”

  Lex looked at her hard for a moment. “You transferred in? From where?”

  Casey shot Lex a look of surprise, then looked away. “Let’s talk more about this later. I’ll explain it all to you then.”

  “OK,” said Lex, confused but willing to wait for a response. It didn’t sound like Casey wouldn’t tell her what she wanted to know but that there was some reason not to cover the subject here and now.

  Casey continued after a moment. “When I first joined up, though, I don’t think I had many questions about the paperwork. I tried reading it, but since they don’t give you much time, I just read the highlights and signed it.”

  “Well, after I asked all my questions, Clara said that she’d put in a word to see if team strategist could be assigned as one of my responsibilities.” Lex gave Casey a curious look then, interested to see what the other woman thought.

  “Oh, that’s Clara, all right,” Casey laughed and then took a bite of pita and hummus.

  Lex continued eating for a while, trying to decide how to approach Casey to ask what her “extraordinary abilities” might be. Finally, she figured a direct approach would be easiest and took a deep breath before she spoke. “Casey, while Clara and I talked, she told me that the people on this team have, uh, abilities other people don’t.”

  Casey nodded in response. “Yes, that’s pretty much true.”

  “So, what’s yours?” Lex asked quickly, curiosity getting the better of her.

  Casey looked at Lex for a moment, and then laughed. “I guess you could say I’m extraordinarily dense.”

  Lex could feel a confused look forming on her face as Casey laughed some more. Finally, she shook her head. “Sorry, just a joke that probably only I would find funny. OK, try touching your own arm and making the skin indent.”

  Doing so while wondering why, Lex moved the skin with a light touch of her index finger.

  “Here,” Casey continued, holding her arm out to Lex, “try to make a dent in my skin.”

  Lex touched Casey’s arm lightly. The blonde’s skin felt warm and smooth, like anyone else’s, but it also felt as solid as the table under Lex’s other hand. One finger made no impression, even when pushed harder, and neither did her whole hand when she tried a strong grab around Casey’s arm. Only when Lex gave the woman’s arm a punch, not the hardest she could manage but a solid one, could she find any give in the skin. Lex’s hand ached a little afterwards with the feeling of having hit something hard.

  “Holy crap,” Lex said, shaking her head. “That is extraordinary. I don’t even know what to ask. Has your skin always been like this?”

  Casey shrugged again. “It’s not just my skin, though. The doctors here tell me that my whole body is like this. I guess I only really noticed as I got older, since I weighed a lot more than the other girls my age even though I wasn’t that much taller than them at first. As a result of that, I’m a lot stronger than the average person. Also, it seems like I’ve gotten even stronger since I joined the team and began training a lot.”

  Lex didn’t know what to say for a few moments. Finally, she just blurted out, “That’s really amazing. I don’t know what the hell I could do that could compare to that.”

  “Oh, I wo
uldn’t worry about it at this point,” Casey replied. “They seem to have an eye for talent here. I haven’t seen that they’ve had to turn away anyone they’ve chosen the whole time I’ve been here, and they’ve managed to pick some pretty amazing people.”

  “Really? What can everyone else do?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  Lex felt her eyebrows knit themselves together, reflecting her puzzlement. “Why not?”

  Casey smiled. “Our tradition has always been that if you want to know what someone’s special talents are, you have to ask them. Also, for some of the things people here can do…well, I don’t even know if I could describe their abilities, so it probably would be better to ask them.”

  “OK, I guess I’ll do that. I just don’t see why they would have chosen me to work with all of you. They keep telling me they want me to apply my martial arts, but that doesn’t sound very extraordinary to me. Anyone can learn martial arts.”

  “Yes, but not everyone can learn to move the way you did the other day,” Casey replied, looking at her seriously. “Which reminds me, I still haven’t seen what you can do, aside from your dodging-paint-buckets special move. When can I get a demonstration?”

  Lex laughed. “Well, that wasn’t a good example anyway, since I couldn’t move my legs freely. I’d be glad to give you a demo tonight after dinner, but I’ll need some time beforehand to set my bed up so I have somewhere to sleep tonight.”

  “Not a problem,” Casey responded. “I’ll help you and then I’ll watch you show off what you can do.”

  Putting a finger to her lip, Lex asked, “That reminds me—how do we get laundry done here? I just realized that I’ll need to get my new sheets and towels washed for tonight.”