by Hayes, Drew
Prepared as they’d been for a heist, they were in no way ready to deal with Ettin. And who could blame them? Last year he’d single-handedly put down an entire gang that tried to attack the Gentle Hammers’ base before backup could arrive. When the other Heroes came, they found him standing on shattered concrete and a dozen broken but living bodies, complaining about the lack of challenge.
Breath already short, the robbers didn’t have much left in the way of stamina. One of them did have an idea, however. A single Hero could only chase in a lone direction, so the thief went intangible and turned left, racing through a wall. His job had been getting into the vault, but this was a great application of power as well. While Ettin went after the others, he’d slip away to freedom, able to go back to robbing shops with shitty security.
That thought lasted until he let his power go to take a breath; lack of oxygen was the one drawback of his ability. Before he’d finished inhaling, a fist slammed into the back of his head, sending him sprawling to the ground. Just before he passed out, the crook recognized the familiar costume of Intra.
Oh hell. There was more than one of them here after all.
Back in the alley, the remaining pair of robbers raced on while silently cursing their turncoat partner. In truth, they would have made the same move if they had the option, but such was not their fortune. Near them, the sound of street traffic could be heard. If they got out of the alley, maybe there was a crowd they could blend into.
Before they could make it through, the shadows near them began to move. A sudden flurry of them formed into blades, striking at their legs with unerring precision. In seconds, they’d dropped to the ground, skidding to a stop just before lurching to a halt before the dark boots of Styx, who had stepped into view to block their way. He looked terrifying as always, dark costume accented with a hood, a cloak adding to the unnatural way the shadows around him seemed to always twitch.
“Oh come on,” mumbled one of the robbers. “You aren’t even on the Gentle Hammers.”
“Nah, but the Honed Blades have a history of working closely with us.” The voice came from Ettin, who had effortlessly closed the gap and was now standing over them. “Word of warning, we’ve got some shit to do this afternoon, so don’t waste any more of our time.” He leaned down, that powerful frame blocking out their view of the sky.
“Now do you surrender, or are you going to try and make this interesting?”
Both men had their hands up before the word “surrender” was finished being spoken.
* * *
The board was displeased. Alice had expected that. What she was proposing was unheard of, practically unimaginable. For them, anyway. To her, it was a challenge roughly on par with finding comfortable yet fashionable heels for a gala. Tough, to be certain, but more than manageable with a little forethought and determination.
Edmonton was the one to speak, of course. It was always Edmonton; he was the weaselly voice they all hid behind. “Mrs. Adair, what you’re proposing is outside the bounds of charity. It falls into mismanagement of the company. After your father’s passing, this cure was the one good thing he’d created. Losing the overall patent due to the circumstance of its creation was bad enough, but now that we’ve finally refined the procedure into a safe, quick, virtually non-invasive version that we were able to patent, you want us to sell it to Powereds at cost?”
“Below cost, actually,” Alice corrected. “There’s a bill going onto the floor of the Senate this week that will subsidize the procedure for companies willing to offer it at lower prices. We’ll make back our investment, as well as a small profit to appease you all, but this will keep it affordable enough for nearly any Powered out there to have access.”
Edmonton’s face was flushing, the telltale sign that he was frustrated over her dismissive tone. “Even if this bill passes–”
“It’s being spearheaded by Senator Campbell. There is no ‘if’ when it comes to that man.”
“I am well aware of your husband’s track record,” Edmonton snapped. “That’s not the issue! We could earn billions from this process. After the Charles Adair scandal, we’ve barely been able to hang on. This is our chance to finally make real money again.”
Alice rose from her seat, pushing back a wave of nausea. Villains and criminals she could handle, but morning sickness was a beast that wouldn’t be slain. Only a few more months and she would be past it, back out there as Legacy with a new face to come home to – a face that, given the heritage of both parents, might very well be born Powered like so many others out there. Others that she was in a position to help. No one stood in the way of a Hero where there were lives to save, especially not men like Edmonton.
“This company only survived because I took on the role of being its face, reassuring the public that I was going to use my father’s wealth to make a difference. You’re right, we’ve barely made it through the past decade, but what’s kept us afloat is staying true to that promise: funding more facilities for Powereds, taking on the onus of refining the cure process, doing every bit of good we could at every turn. But it’s all been treading water. This, right here, this moment is when we show the world whether we meant it or not. If you try to make this into a profit machine, the public will turn on us and you will destroy everything. I met you halfway; we are making money on the deal. Overreach, and it all comes tumbling down.”
Pouring herself a glass of water, Alice carefully read the room. They were a greedy lot, which at least made them fiscally responsible, but they were also cowards. They all lived their lives in offices and board rooms, content to see the world through luxury and glass. The collapse of a company, laid right at their feet, would be anchors thrust upon them. No one wanted to hire a failure, especially with as high-profile as this would all be. As bad as they wanted that money, they wanted to protect their status quo more. Whatever doubts they might have had, no one could dispute Alice’s track record. She’d kept the wheels from falling off all this time, so they would trust her on this move like they had on all the other, lesser ones that laid the foundation for this moment.
“Has it occurred to you that perhaps the world doesn’t want Powereds turned into Supers?” Edmonton was still going, not willing to give this up yet. “People are scared. There are groups trying to have the process banned.”
“Let them try.” Alice’s voice came out a bit too strong, some of Legacy bleeding over. “There will always be people afraid of change, but it comes regardless. Intra’s murder was a true tragedy, yet from his death came a miracle. It took my father and his staff years to figure out how to replicate a single chemical from Intra’s brain, and years more before they succeeded in safely augmenting other bodies to produce it. Even then, he probably got lucky given how crude his tactics were. Things have changed, though. The information has spread. Our method is safe and will be affordable, but we won’t be the only ones out there. Turning from Powered to Super is a life-changing experience, and one way or another, Powereds will find a way to get the procedure done. It can be something they steal in the night, or something we offer as a gift to those in need. But once they are Supers, I think you’ll very much wish you’d gone with my version. Personally, I’d prefer a nation of new Supers to be grateful to me rather than resentful of my greed.”
Alice took a single sip of the water, then set the glass down. “You can keep squabbling over this. The vote is in two days. Give it a lot of thought. The future is coming, all you get to choose is which side of it you’re on. As for me, I have a pressing event that I can’t miss.”
Without waiting for reply, she strode out of the room. She wasn’t needed here. The outcome was painted on their faces. Being a Subtlety Hero had a lot of drawbacks when building relations with other Heroes, but it sure as hell came in handy in the business side of her life.
* * *
“Dr. Daniels, I was wondering if you had a moment?”
Mary glanced up from her desk to find the wide smile of her father-in-law illumina
ting the doorway. “There are no students around, Owen, I think we can drop the formalities.”
Her office was tucked away in a more private area of Sizemore’s HCP, placed where students could come without being seen by their peers in case they wanted to have a session in secret. It was a convenience largely for the younger students; generally, around the time they made it to junior year, most of them realized that there was no shame in needing mental help with the burdens they were facing. She worked hard to instill that in them, ensuring that those who made it to graduation would be comfortable seeking help when they needed it.
“You’re probably right, I’m just still getting used to going by Professor Daniels,” he admitted. “It’s been three years, you’d think I’d adjust.”
“If it’s any consolation, virtually all of the students still call you Titan behind your back. The downside of being an active Hero as well as an HCP teacher.”
“Only in dire emergencies,” Owen reminded her. “Thankfully, those aren’t coming much these days. Ettin has become the strongman people call first when shit goes sideways, and it’s rare he can’t get the job done.”
Mary glanced over to the framed photo on her desk, showing her and Hershel dressed up nicely at one of Alice’s charity fundraisers. “Those two have turned into quite the team. Brute force and a cunning tactical mind. It certainly didn’t hurt that they learned under an excellent mentor, either.”
With a wave, Owen dismissed the idea. “Let’s not put undeserved credit on me. They were always going to be great; at most I sped things up a little. But I actually came to see you about teaching – or teachers, really. You know Jeanine is retiring next year, so we’ve been looking for a new Control professor. Well, the DVA sent us someone qualified, however he comes with extra conditions. There would need to be security and safety protocols, seeing as he is technically a criminal serving time through community service.”
The pencil in her hands nearly snapped. “No way. Pitching in on cleanup and helping with really tough fights is one thing, but teaching? You seriously got them to sign off on it?”
“There’s precedent, established when Sean Pendleton proved to be an excellent instructor as he served his sentence teaching students at Lander and stayed on even after he was free. The big condition was having a dean willing to take on that responsibility, and Dean Jackson agreed after we had a long conversation.”
Understanding set in at the last bit of information. “He finally made you do it, huh?”
“Not for a couple more years… I still need lots of training. But yes, I agreed to take over for him. It was going to happen anyway; he’s steadfastly refused any more anti-aging sessions with Hallow; just getting him to go down a few years was enough of a fight. This way, at least I got something out of the bargain.”
“You may have to give up being Titan for good when that day finally comes.”
“Maybe. But I don’t think I have it in me to turn down the world if it needs me. Spent too long doing that, and I didn’t care for it.” Owen paused, his eyes going distant for a moment before snapping back to reality. “Anyway, I was thinking since they’re already prepping for his campus tour tomorrow that means there are teleporters on hand, so we could head out together. No sense in getting two teleporters for a one-person job.”
Checking the clock, Mary realized the time was indeed drawing near. “Good thinking. Come get me when you’re both ready, I have a little more work I’d like to do before we go.”
“Same work ethic as always, I see. Wrap things up, we won’t be too long.”
Owen’s sizable shadow vanished from the doorway, leaving Mary alone once again. Part of her was still reeling from the news. Mary had supported the proposal, but not even she’d expected it to go through. It was crazy to think that next year’s freshman would not only be learning from Titan, but also the man once known as Globe. Sizemore was already becoming a powerhouse, and this would only throw fuel on the fire.
As a Lander alumna, albeit not an HCP graduate, Mary hoped they were keeping up their standards as well. Otherwise, the next few Intramurals might turn out to be extremely one-sided.
* * *
The Heroes were coming, trying to stop her. All the better. They could burn with the rest of the lot, these evil humans who expected her to abide by their rules even as they did whatever they pleased. How dare they try to cage her, as if they had the right. As though it were just to punish her for the sin of simply existing.
Overhead, barely contained in the palm of her hand, a massive ball of crackling explosive energy swelled, desperately wishing to be freed. She would let it, soon. Once it reached critical mass, she would let go and destroy and entire section of the city. From this height, with no building to support her, she would die too. That was fine. Better to die like this than keep living like she had.
“It’s Doreen, isn’t it?”
The voice came from the other side of the roof, and as Doreen whipped around, she found herself staring at a Hero in a blue and silver costume. The mask covered the majority of his head, concealing his face and hair, allowing only those bright blue eyes and some of his mouth to be seen. “That’s your name?”
“Cute trick, but I know yours as well. Tell me, Jack of All, do you think you can absorb this before I set it off? This isn’t some bit of fire or electricity like you favor, it’s my own special energy, the sort absorbers can rarely ingest.” Despite her tough demeanor, Doreen had to resist taking an accidental step backward. Although his official name was so inoffensive it might as well have been a kitten, she knew there were other names criminals called this Hero. Nightmare Jack was a popular one, which wasn’t especially creative since he already came from the Class of Nightmares. Jack the Unstoppable came around when he strode out of the trap a gang set for him, building burning behind and with nary a wound to be seen. Some rumors, from accounts of people who’d seen him called in to deal with lethal threats, even named him the Jack of Carnage. It was hard to imagine such a reputation belonging to a man like this, though. Perhaps the rumors were just that, falsehoods spun to make a mid-level Hero seem more terrifying.
He held up his hands, palms spread wide. “I didn’t come here to make threats. Ideally, I don’t even want to fight. Why don’t we talk this over? I’ve read your file, Doreen. Or had it read to me on the way over, at least. You’re not a monster. You’re just someone who caught a few bad breaks. Yes, attacking your old boss was a bad move, but you had some grounds given what he tried to pull by framing you for that plant explosion. I believe your side of events from that, I really do. Right now, there’s still a way back from all this. Assault, destruction of property… they are crimes and you’ll have to answer for them, but juries are made of people, people who can show mercy or empathize with your plight. Even if you do a few years in jail, there is life afterward. This, on the other hand, is the sort of thing no one can come back from.”
Moving slowly, as non-threatening as possible, he pointed to the bloated energy ball, still rippling and growing in her hands. “That first one wasn’t your fault. But this? This is all on you, Doreen. Every mom down there who won’t come home, every husband who said his last goodbye, every child whose absence will leave an unhealable scar. You’re mad, and you’re scared, and you think it’s all over, but it’s not. It doesn’t have to be. You’ve still got a choice. Stop this, right now, and I’ll make sure the courts know you’re the one who decided not to hurt people today. No one stopped you except your own sense of decency.”
This… this wasn’t what she was prepared for. Fighting, dying, a last blaze of something to put a mark on the world, Doreen was ready for that. Kindness, however, was a blade she’d never thought to defend against. Where was he when she was being thrown under the bus, blamed for something she’d had no hand in just because she possessed powers? Where was he when it had counted? Doreen looked up at the trembling blast in her hand, ready to level a whole block when she dropped it from this roof, ready to become an even w
orse monster than they’d accused her of being. Maybe Heroes only showed up when they were truly needed.
With a shaking breath, Doreen nodded. “I don’t… I didn’t… I was just so angry.”
“I understand. I really, truly do. Let’s sit here and talk for a while, okay? I’ve got some time to kill anyway, so why don’t we spend it looking at your options going forward.”
Doreen wanted that, more than she’d realized. She stepped forward, already beginning to dispel her orb. Unfortunately, her foot snared a loose brick that sent her tumbling to the ground. There was barely time to scream as she watched the ball of energy sail from her hand directly toward Jack of All. He was already moving though, arms outstretched as he slammed his palms into the ball, drawing the energy into himself. It all happened in a split-second; in no time the orb had vanished like it was never even there.
Pulling herself up, Doreen realized that at some point she’d started crying.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s okay, I saw you trip.” The unassuming Hero showed her his hands again, hands that were unscarred, unblemished in any way despite the raw power they’d just brushed. “I know you were trying to do the right thing.”
Without meaning too, Doreen sniffed loudly. “I guess that explains why you were so calm up here. You knew you could absorb my energy the whole time as a backup plan, huh?”
“Oh definitely not. I had no idea if I’d be able to pull it off. I’ve gotten pretty good with crafted energy, but each one is unique, so it’s still a gamble.” He nodded behind Doreen. “She was my backup plan. Or maybe I was hers… it tends to switch depending on the situation.”
There, climbing up from the side of the building, was the blood red costume of Adrestia. Rumor said that she could bring down anyone with a single touch, no matter how powerful. From that position, she would have been able to reach Doreen in a flash.
“I never had a chance, did I?” Doreen asked.
