Wonder Heroes 4.0

by Ahlquist, Steve

  Matt was annoyed. “We met something like this before. I mean the old team. Sensor jamming technology developed by the Geheimites.”

  “I read about that in the comic,” said Kalomo, “you found them a new home world.”

  “Maybe they came back?” asked Susan helpfully.

  “No. They couldn’t,” said Matt, his voice carefully neutral, “We didn’t find them a new home world. They all died fighting us.”

  “What? I don’t get it…” Kalomo asked, confused.

  “You read the comic book Kalomo, the official story. The truth is that the Geheimites didn’t want any world but ours. They tried to take the planet, failed and died.” Matt pointed at the room that led into what seemed to be the main laboratory. “It happens that way sometimes.”

  Kalomo was speechless. Susan patted him on the shoulder. “You okay?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Kalomo.

  “Who cares?” said Jay, taking up a position behind Matt, ready to back him up if a fight erupted, “It’s ancient history.”

  “Exactly,” Matt agreed, “Let’s get this over with.”

  Jay and Matt charged into the lab, followed by Susan and Kalomo.

  The robots in the lab were primitive, slow, and lacked any kind of offensive weaponry that could pose a threat to the Wonder Hero armor. Matt and Jay rolled into range, Matt evading the gunfire, Jay allowing his armor to absorb the multiple impacts. They each wrapped their fists in auras of energy and punched a pair of attacking robots into scrap metal. Susan fired a blast of red energy across the lab, frying another robot’s circuitry and rendering it inoperable.

  As the team scanned the room for more targets, Kalomo crouched in front of a machine, terrestrial in design, but augmented with what appeared to be advanced, perhaps even alien technology. After a moment consulting his gauntlet, Kalomo flipped a few switches and turned it off.

  “It’s the sensor jammer,” Kalomo said, by way of explanation, “I just turned it off.”

  Instantly the Wonder Heroes sensors and comms widened to include the outside world. Contact was reestablished with the Wonder Computer and General Rumpole, who was urgently saying, “…in. I repeat, Wonder Heroes report. Wonder Hero Gold is down…”

  Susan shot out of the laboratory. Kalomo followed and caught up to her outside as she was helping Theodore climb out of a muddy, man-shaped puddle in the university lawn.

  “P…” said Theodore, clearing his head, “Susan?”

  “Take it easy,” Susan said as she attempted to patch her gauntlet into Theodore’s to get a diagnostic reading. Surprisingly, her attempt was rebuffed. “I can’t get a reading here.”

  “Hold on,” said Theodore as he concentrated on his gauntlet settings, and suddenly the data began to flow again. Susan was relived to see that though Theodore had suffered a severe blow, but was already well on his way to recovering.

  “You’re going to be fine,” said Susan, echoing what her sensors told her.

  “Nothing hurt but my pride,” added Theodore, stretching to pop a kink in his back.

  Jay and Kalomo took to the skies, black and white streaks against the blue sky. “They’re scouting the area,” said Matt, reviewing the data from the Wonder Computer about the weapon that had hit Theodore.

  Susan helped Theodore to his feet as the Wonder Computer forwarded its conclusions to the team, saying in its usual calm voice, “It looks like Wonder Hero Gold was hit by a Procyonic disruptor.”

  Matt frowned. “This is making less and less sense,” he said, “First it’s the Geheimites, then the Procyons? And they’re using robots?”

  Theodore was starting to feel like himself again. “It’s as if someone’s collected the leftover tech of the aliens your team fought in the past…”

  Matt palmed his forehead in realization. “Jay, Kalomo, get back here. We’re going back to Wonder Base.”

  Jay and Kalomo exchanged looks as they halted their scans. “We haven’t tracked the robots yet,” said Jay by way of protest.

  “They can block your scans and they’re probably long gone,” Matt looked at Susan meaningfully. “We need to talk to the General.”

  Susan did not like the worry in Matt’s voice. “What’s going on?”

  “Somebody’s revived Project Kryptonite.”

  Wonder Heroes 4.14

  Kyle Jensen peered through a dirty basement window as Wonder Heroes Jet and Ghost zipped through the sky in search of him and his companions. Nearby stood the robot designated Kill, holding in its arms the upper torso, head and arms of his brother robot Crush. Jaimie Karasik stood in the center of the dark basement, her face illuminated only by the small alien device in her hands. Her face was completely calm as she read the quickly scrolling alien symbols that allowed her to both track the location of the Wonder Heroes and simultaneously be assured that her small group of warriors was hidden from their sensors.

  “Get away from the windows, Kyle,” Jaimie said without looking up, “This sensor blocking tech is useless if they see you watching them.”

  Kyle, a skinny seventeen year old with dyed black hair smiled and stepped away from the window. Ancient alien programming ripped through the boy’s mind, but his personality was untouched. He crossed the room and wrapped himself around Jaimie as she pushed into him, reveling in his closeness and warmth. Still, her attention was fixed on the scanner until she was sure that the Wonder Heroes were gone, teleported back to New Mexico.

  “We’re clear,” she said, pocketing the scanner. Jaimie turned in Kyle’s arms and kissed him with fiery, primitive, animalistic passion. They fell into the feeling of each other’s lips and tongues, moaning and reveling in the feelings of their bodies.

  Impassively the robot Kill watched the behavior of his two companions until it felt too much time had passed. “What are you doing?” it asked, in a voice that might remind one of a harmonica.

  Jaimie broke away, a string of drool quavering at her bottom lip. Her hair was bleached white and dry, she had piercings in her eyebrow and lip, and tattoos splayed down her arms. The nineteen-year-old’s eyes revealed an almost feral nature. “These bodies feel so much…” She ran her hands down her torso, closing her eyes to heighten the sensation.

  Kyle joined Jaimie in touching her body. “These bodies are awesome,” he agreed.

  “My body feels nothing, but the need to kill,” said the robot in response, “However, my weapon systems have been removed, and my power levels are quite low. This one in my arms is in need of repair. Wallowing in animal pleasures may have taken you off task.”

  Jaimie’s expression turned from lust to anger in a flash. “Off task?” she asked, stepping towards the pair of robots, “I am an Officer in the mighty ranks of the Aierta. My mission is to conduct war. First, by securing a physical presence.”

  Jaimie spread her arms and posed as behind her Kyle smiled.

  “Second, secure weaponry capable of dealing with planetary defenses.” Jaimie unslung the Procyonic Disruptor from her back and engaged the power unit. An ominous hum filled the room.

  “Third, locate additional warriors.” Jaimie indicated Kyle, who bowed his head slightly in response, and then the robot Kill, who stood motionlessly, holding the remains of Crush in its arms.

  “This world is protected by powerful defenders, unknown in our times of battle,” said Jaimie, “War waged against them must be crafty and subtle, until we can secure the power to finish them.”

  Kill moved his head with the whirring sound of miniature servos and his camera-like eyes focused on Jaimie as she continued, “So long have we drifted at the mercies of the cosmos that there is nothing left of us but the most essential program: make war. In all the universe, there may be no more than the six of us left, but these bodies define us, and their needs must also be met.”

  Kill lowered his eye lenses. “Pardon my doubts, Commander.”

  Jaimie smiled, and shook her head to reassure her comrade.
“After millions of years of war, and billions of years of drifting through space, only to arrive here, in these bodies… your doubts are forgivable my friend.”

  After a brief silence Kyle opened a laptop computer and tapped some keys. He called over his shoulder, “What’s our next move, Jaimie?”

  Jaimie reached into her handbag, past the grenades and ammo clips, and pulled out a plastic container with Vuitton’s brain in it. The brain looked much the worse for wear. “We need to get this dog brain into a freezer, repair Crush, and get ourselves weapons powerful enough to take down these Wonder Heroes permanently.”

  The laptop screen glowed, and a voice issued from the speaker. “On this planet there are no native weapon systems powerful enough to ensure victory. Our best strategy is to continue to search for those pieces of extraterrestrial technology that have been shown to be effective against the Wonder Heroes in the past.”

  Kill regarded the laptop with curiosity.

  Jaimie explained. “It is one of our brothers. He found his way into that machine, just as Kyle and I found these bodies and you yours.”

  “In the meantime,” continued the laptop, “I’ve secured a building where we can be safe, until our plans are fully formed.”

  All eyes were on Jaimie now. “Kyle, take the robots to the secure location.” She handed him the container of dog brain. “Get that on ice. I will rejoin you tomorrow afternoon. I have personal business to attend to.”

  Kyle nodded. He knew exactly what kind of personal business Jaimie intended.

  At Wonder Base Matt stepped off the teleporter pad, and dismissed his Wonder Armor. Grabbing his blue robe from the hook he lead the team to the conference room.

  Waiting for them was General Rumpole, who wasted no time in asking, “What’s going on, Matt?”

  “We ran up against two kids using tech scavenged from aliens my team dealt with years ago,” said Matt, “Procyon, Geheimite, those stupid robots…”

  The General grew thoughtful. “I don’t understand…”

  “It’s Project Kryptonite, General.”

  Susan looked at Theodore, but saw no sign that he knew anything about this.

  “No. No way,” the General looked pained, and apologetic, “I shut that program down two years ago.”

  “Excuse me,” said Susan, “Project Kryptonite?”

  The General sighed. “When the Wonder Heroes first appeared on the scene the United States government didn’t know what to make of them. They seemed to be doing good, but in those early days we couldn’t even be sure they were human, never mind heroes. So I was tapped to find a way to take them down, if the need ever arose.”

  “Project Kryptonite,” said Theodore, “You were looking for ways to take out the Wonder Heroes.”

  “I spent a year chasing those kids, scavenging and developing alien weaponry to take them down.” The General’s feelings of regret were evident as he spoke. “I hounded them to the ends of the Earth, and in the bargain I almost killed everyone on the planet.”

  Susan shook her head. “That’s crazy. They were saving the world on a weekly basis…”

  “Sure,” interrupted the General, “but they were so much more powerful than the military. If they decided to overthrow the government, what could we do? Suppose they went bad?”

  The room became silent as everyone reached the same conclusion. It was Jay who said it aloud. “Like Harlan.”

  Matt shot Jay a look. Theodore looked away, somehow embarrassed.

  “I’m an idiot,” said the General, “of course the project would be restarted after Harlan’s betrayal.”

  “They didn’t tell you they were restarting the project,” said Matt, “Why?”

  “Obviously,” answered the General, sitting down with a slight groan, “They don’t trust me. They think I’m more loyal to the Wonder Heroes than I am to the United Nations.” The General smiled and added, “They’re right.”

  There was silence in the room. No one was sure what to say.

  “So let me get this straight,” said Jay, “These two kids somehow got access to a top-secret weapons program aimed at taking out the Wonder Heroes? Why? And who are they?”

  “It doesn’t matter why,” said Susan, “They’re planning something big and need us out of the way. We have to stop them.”

  Matt seethed, lost in thought.

  Kalomo asked, “What do we do now?”

  “We should concentrate on finding those kids and those robots,” said Susan, looking around, trying to get a consensus. Theodore, Kalomo and Jay agreed.

  Matt muttered, “Goddamn Harlan.” Then, louder, he said, “Sounds like a plan, Susan. I’ll work with the Computer, see if we can find a way to track them.”

  The team filtered out of the room, and the door closed, whisper quiet, leaving Matt alone with the General. Matt sat down at the conference table, and buried his face in his hands. Unable to contain his emotions any longer, Wonder Hero Ultra began to cry in great rending sobs. The General placed a hand on Matt’s shoulder, not knowing how to help.

  Jaimie Karasik walked a mile from the USC campus to a nearby parking lot and shot a man coming out of a convenience store. She took the car keys from the man’s hand before his body hit the ground. She drove for hours along Route 95 until she came to Dumfries, Virginia. To Jaimie the town was completely familiar, and totally alien. It was dark when she drove off the highway, darker as she drove off the main roads, and darker still as she drove off the back roads onto paths of dirt. The only illumination under the pitch-black sky was the weak yellow headlights of her stolen car. Eventually the car crawled to a stop outside of a ramshackle house in dire need of paint and repair.

  The golden haired retriever on the porch recognized her, and wagged his tail as Jaimie approached.

  “Hey Sammie,” Jaimie said, and the dog lowered his head, expecting to be scratched behind the ears. Instead the poor creature received a bullet to the brain. Lights came on in the house in response to the gunshot. Jaimie kicked in the door and made her way down the hall. In the room at the end of the hall she heard movement. Jaimie kicked through this door as well, and saw her mother attempting to load a shotgun. The woman jumped when Jaimie entered. Jaimie raised her gun.

  “Where’s Dad?”

  “He’s not here!” Her mother dropped the gun on the bed and stood straight. She had her hands in the air.

  “I know he’s not here,” said Jaimie impatiently, “Where is he?”

  “I saw you on the news,” said Jaimie’s mother, “I’ve been so worried about you…”

  Jaimie shook her head. “That’s a lie, Mom. Where is Dad?”

  “He’s at the bar.”

  Jaimie shot her mother, who fell down as if her strings were cut. Then Jaimie left the room, and stopped at the next door. Ancient programming told her that she did not need to do this, that her memories of that room were sufficient, but the human brain the Aierta occupied had other needs. Jaimie opened the door and looked in at her old room. In her absence her parents had stored some boxes here, but otherwise her room was just as she remembered it with pop star posters on the walls, a few books on shelves, and toys in the toy box at the foot of the bed.

  It was on that bed that she had dreamed as a child. It was on that bed that her father had stolen her dreams and her childhood from her.

  As Jaimie left the house, the grenade she tossed into her old room exploded, and the house caught fire. As Jaimie drove away, the fire hit the propane tanks outside the house and a fireball rose into the air behind her.

  The bar was called Joe’s and the owner’s name was Bill. It was a small, beaten down place with a burned-out neon sign and a steady clientele.

  Jaimie walked into the bar, the first woman to enter the place in months. “You better have an ID on you honey,” were the last words Bill said as Jaimie shot him in the head.

  Two men dove for cover, but Jamie ignored them and beelined for her father, who was sittin
g at the bar looking like a scared animal waking up from a deep sleep. He struggled to focus his drunken eyes on the woman with the gun.

  “Jamie?” the man asked, confused.

  Jamie smiled, and shot him three times in the chest. Then Jaimie executed the rest of the men in the bar one by one, their pleas for pity ignored.

  As the men in the bar died, Kalomo climbed into his bed at Wonder Base next to his fiancé Linnea and snuggled in close to her.

  “Kal! You’re cold,” said Linnea with feigned annoyance.

  “Warm me up.”

  Linnea rolled over and they kissed. She could sense, even in the dark, something was bothering Kalomo. “What is it?” she asked.

  “I feel like a little kid, seeing how the world works for the first time.”

  “What happened?”

  “Lies,” said Kalomo, “the story of the Wonder Heroes isn’t what I read in the comic books.”

  Linnea smiled in the dark. “You didn’t really expect it to be, did you?”

  “No, of course not,” answered Kalomo, “but I didn’t expect it to be so… dark.”

  Linnea pulled Kalomo close and kissed him on the forehead.

  “Did I do the right thing, becoming a Wonder Hero?” Kalomo asked, “Is this what’s best for us? I could die and you’d be alone…”

  “Honey, when I met you I’ll admit, I wasn’t thinking action hero,” Linnea whispered, “but we can’t always do what we want. That gauntlet turned down eighty people before it found you. I have to think that it saw in you what I see.”

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

  “A good man.”

  Kalomo thought about Linnea’s words as he lay awake in the dark, listening to Linnea’s gentle breathing as she slept. He wondered if it was possible to be a good man and a Wonder Hero at the same time.