Superhuman Nature

by Brandon Overall

  Above Neil as he walked into the room was a lofted observation deck with thick tinted glass protecting the occupants inside. Neil couldn’t see through the glass, but he felt that there were more than just two people behind it. He had an audience.

  He stepped out into the middle of the room and heard a voice from a loudspeaker.

  “Neil, welcome to our state of the art testing facility.” The voice was Tanya’s. “It is modular, completely soundproof, nearly indestructible, and fully automated by computer software. This room was built with a different kind of testing in mind, but we…repurposed it to accommodate a skill set such as yours.”

  Neil reached out with his mind and felt the room. The space behind the metal panels was lined with gears, pulleys, hydraulic pumps, and everything they would need to completely alter the shape of the room. The only doorway was the one from which he entered, but openings could be made at any location along the wall or the floor.

  “We’re going to give our friends up here in the observation deck a little demonstration of your talents. Just to keep things interesting, we’re going to add a little bit of danger to the mix. I have no doubt that you will do fine. Your friend Mr. Steele is up here too, and he’s just as curious as a kitten to see what all the fuss is about.” Tanya spoke again.

  Neil could practically see the look on Steele’s face after being compared to a kitten. After hearing Tanya mention danger, his adrenaline spiked. He tried to imagine what they would be throwing at him. He searched for the presence of some new threat, but there was nothing of concern.

  “Well, let the fun begin, shall we?” She said.

  Neil stood for what must have been an entire minute waiting for something to happen. There was dead silence. His heart started to beat faster as the anticipation of some dangerous scenario filled his thoughts.

  The hydraulic pumps pulled apart three openings on each wall of the room. The sudden noise of the pumps startled Neil. He frantically scanned each wall back and forth, waiting for something to happen.

  Men wearing body armor and carrying rifles stormed into the room with their weapons raised directly at Neil. More than a dozen men formed a complete circle around him within seconds.

  ‘This is crazy.’ Neil thought.

  They were going to execute him in front of everyone just to entertain some faceless political figures behind the glass. He wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction.

  The armed men all flipped their weapons from safe to fire simultaneously. There was no time to come up with a good strategy. All he could do was brace himself for the incoming hail of gunfire.

  The men all opened fire at the same time. Neil’s body reacted automatically to the incoming threat. Every part of him cemented itself against the incoming projectiles, just like the in the library. He became completely immobile and indestructible. All of the cells in his body were fixed in place, and no outside force would be able to damage them in any way.

  The projectiles bounced off of Neil like they were made of rubber. He couldn’t feel a thing. The men didn’t cease fire after one round. They continued pulling the trigger, emptying their magazines into him.

  He saw some of the projectiles hit the floor around him, and realized that they were rubber. They were shooting him with rubber bullets, rather than real ones. He was relieved to know that they weren’t trying to kill him.

  Neil’s mind was finally able to catch up to the chaos around him. There had to be a better way to defend himself rather than just sitting there completely unable to move. He closed his eyes and pushed his influence outside of his mind into a bubble around his body. He applied an outward force from that bubble so that nothing could penetrate it.

  The sound of the rubber bullets impacting his body immediately ceased. He opened his eyes. Hundreds of projectiles were hovering in the air encircling him, just a few feet from his skin. Neil released control over his body, while maintaining his protective bubble.

  As the men continued to fire, the debris in the field around Neil slowly filled up. He had collected hundreds of rubber balls in his sphere. He brought all of the bullets into his influence.

  The men stopped firing after all of their ammunition was depleted. They ejected the empty magazines in unison and reached for fresh ones from their vests.

  He took the opportunity to strike.

  Every armed man in the room was continuously pelted by the rubber bullets they had fired at Neil.

  He made sure to only hit the armored parts of their bodies. His attacks were nonetheless effective. The men panicked and tried to cover themselves as they each cowered into the fetal position onto the floor. Neil didn’t stop. Several of them were crying in agony. They begged for mercy.

  He could have kept going. He could have gone for their faces, or broken their bones by strikes to their limbs, but instead he stopped. His point was made.

  Neil turned to face the observation room and stared angrily at the occupants behind the tinted glass. He knew he could rip the glass off the wall and decimate everyone in the room with rubber bullets. Instead, he fired one bullet into a spot directly in the middle of the glass. The glass absorbed the blow without cracking, but the round left a small mark directly at the point of impact.

  Neil heard a gasp over the loudspeaker as the round hit. Everyone in the room jumped in surprise.

  Neil sent another bullet to the exact spot on the glass, then another, and another. After several impacts, the mark where the rounds were impacting grew in size. The glass wouldn’t be able to stand the force of being hit by rubber bullets forever. Neil continued to pelt the glass. Eventually, small cracks started forming around the impact site.

  He increased the rate that he was firing bullets. The impact site formed a small crater, and cracks formed in several circles around it. The glass was seconds away from being punctured. Everyone in the room was terrified.

  “Enough!” Neil stopped. The voice was Carl’s. “You’ve made your point, Neil. The test is complete.”

  CHAPTER 13

  The armed men had all crawled across the ground towards the wall. Most of them were in too much pain to walk. They would all wake up to find giant bruises on their chests and backs, no doubt.

  The walls opened up again. The men climbed to their feet and struggled to limp through the exit. The door where Neil entered made a mechanical click. It was unlocked. He exited the testing room, returning to the main floor of the gallery.

  Carl stood on the other side of the door waiting for him.

  “Ah, Neil, I’m delighted that you decided to join us. You have already made a strong impression on our guests, as well as Colonel Steele. He is currently being briefed by my wife on his role in our arrangement.”

  “Your wife?”

  Surely he didn’t mean…

  “Tanya, yes. We have been happily married for almost ten years now. I met her when she first started working here. But that is a tale for another time. Please, come with me. I want to introduce you to some people.”

  Neil followed Carl up the stairs and into a large conference room. Inside, there were three men wearing military dress uniforms. He noticed the stars on their shoulders immediately. One of the men approached Neil and held out his hand.

  “Lieutenant Hitchens, nice to meet you. I’m General Alexander, the director of the NSA.”

  Neil shook his hand without saying a word. The next man wore the brown desert camouflage of the Marine Corps.

  “General Dunford, ISAF Commander.” His voice was solemn and without emotion.

  None of the men Neil was being introduced to seemed phased by witnessing a young man take out an entire squad of armed men using nothing but his mind.

  The next man Neil recognized immediately. It was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

  “Dempsey. Nice to meet you, son.” Dempsey spoke with candor, and Neil liked his warm personality right away.

  The three Generals had flown all the way here from all over the world just to watch his demonstr
ation. They were there to assess the best way to use Neil as a strategic weapon.

  He wondered if these Generals knew what Carl had done to convince Neil to come there. Would they approve of kidnapping if it gave them the opportunity to unleash Neil on their enemies overseas? He guessed that those kinds of men didn’t get to where they were without having to accept some collateral damage.

  Neil didn’t feel like he was being looked at like a human being in their eyes. He was an opportunity – a tool for them to use.

  They could think that way about him if they wanted to, but underestimating him would be a foolish mistake. Neil was not an obedient slave to their will. He was only there because he wanted to protect Emma. Beyond that, he felt no loyalty to them.

  They all took their seats around the conference table, and Carl began by speaking directly to Neil.

  “These gentlemen were more than impressed with your demonstration. They’ll be leaving in the morning, but they wanted to see for themselves what you are capable of. I think I speak for all of us when I say that your talents could be extremely useful to defend these United States.” He continued, “That’s what you’re here for. We’re going to figure out where to put you to cause the most damage. I understand this is all a little overwhelming for you right now, Neil, but in time you will grow to see yourself as the hero we want you to become.”

  Hero.

  Neil couldn’t help but laugh at that. They didn’t want to turn him into a hero, they wanted him to become the most deadly weapon in the US arsenal. He wasn’t going to win awards, or give speeches, or have holidays celebrated in his honor. Knowing how the military operated, he would be lucky if anyone even knew he existed.

  “I can see you have a good handle on your skills already, but we’re going to make you even better. We’re going to teach you to push yourself to the limits of what you are capable of. Before you leave here, your ability will become a natural part of who you are.”

  Neil sat in silence. No one had said anything to make him think he was getting anything out of the deal. He was there because he couldn’t let them hurt Emma. He didn’t give a shit about winning wars, or politics. There was a time when he thought defending the American way of life was important to him, but that was in the past. He stopped wanting to protect America when America stopped protecting him.

  “Neil, all we are asking for is one year.” It was General Dempsey. “After one year, we will retire you for good. You will be given all of the awards and prestige that you deserve, and you will live the rest of your life with all the money you could ever want, free to live your life however you please.”

  “And Emma?” Neil asked, “What happens to her? Will she be your prisoner for the whole year?”

  “No, of course not.” Carl began to speak again. “Your girlfriend is completely safe. She was taken to a police station and arrested for a bogus charge, identity theft. Once we are sure you are willing to cooperate, we will release her and the charges will be dropped. I regret having to trick you into believing she was in danger, but it was necessary to convince you to do the right thing.”

  Neil felt relief. If it was true, then Emma was ok.

  He didn’t know what to think. Could he trust Carl? If Emma really was safe, then how did they know he would continue to work for them? He could break out of the building at any moment and fly all the way home to see her. They didn’t have any way to stop him.

  “Before you think of trying to break your way out of here,” Carl seemed to read his mind. “Know that the situation can easily change. You saw how easy it was for us to take her. We have constant surveillance on her and everyone in your immediate family. We know where they are at all times. We are willing to do whatever it takes to keep you on our side.”

  “Lieutenant Hitchens,” It was the NSA director, “We are not bad people. We don’t want anyone in your family to get hurt. But understand, we have a job to do here. You have provided us with an incredible opportunity to save thousands of lives. We owe it to the American people to take advantage of that opportunity.”

  Neil thought for a moment. He knew he was being given the illusion of choice, but for the time being it was better to give them the illusion of submission.

  “Ok.” Neil said, “I’ll do it. I’ll give you one year. After that, I never want to see anyone wearing a uniform again.”

  Carl stood up and cheered. “Excellent, my boy! You have my word. One year.”

  “One question.”

  “Yes, what is it?”

  “What does Colonel Steele have to do with all of this?”

  “Colonel Steele? Ah, you must mean General Steele. Yes, the Army has seen fit to promote him due to his outstanding commitment to the United States and the preservation of the American way of life, or some such. Not many people skip the rank of full-bird Colonel these days. He must be exceptionally good at his duties.”

  Everyone in the room laughed, except Neil.

  “Sarcasm aside, Steele has a very important role to play. He is going to be your aide. As far as everyone else is concerned, it will look like you are his aide, but don’t let the mismatched ranks confuse you. The two of you will be attached at the hip. It will allow you to move about the entire world, and every battlefield without drawing suspicion. You will have priority on any flight, and he will be able to get you anything you need. No one will ask you any questions, and you will be free to complete your mission without anyone getting in the way. Rank has its privileges, after all.”

  It all made sense now. Steele was going to be camouflage for Neil. Wherever they went, the attention would be drawn towards Steele, allowing the brand new Second Lieutenant to meddle around unnoticed.

  “Well,” Carl said, “I think that’s enough excitement for one day. I’m sure you must be dreadfully tired after your trip, especially after that performance in the test facility. I say we let everyone get some rest and pick this back up tomorrow afternoon!”

  With Carl’s closing comments, everyone stood up and left the room. Neil returned to his living quarters, laid down, and fell asleep.

  ---

  Neil awoke to fire.

  He was lying in bed, and his entire room was engulfed in flames. He could feel the heat penetrating his skin. The smoke in the air filled his lungs with hot ash whenever he tried to breathe. The flames burned through his room until it reached his bed. He felt his skin melt and sear off of his bones.

  Neil was dying. There was nothing he could do to save himself. The flames were eating away at his life, and he was helpless to stop it. He hyperventilated as he struggled to breathe, but there was no oxygen left in the room. He would die alone, while burning to death and asphyxiating.

  He looked up to see two figures standing next to his bed. He recognized them immediately. They were General Steele and Emma. They stood at his side, unaffected by the flames. They didn’t try to help Neil, or put out the fire. They just watched him burn.

  “HELP ME!!!” Neil screamed, “I’M DYING! I’M BURNING! OH GOD, PLEASE HELP ME EMMA!!!”

  They didn’t move. They continued staring at him. The flames entered his throat as he screamed. The fire burned his insides. He knew it was over.

  “I’m sorry, Neil.” They spoke in unison, “It’s for the best.”

  The light began to fade, and the pain stopped. Neil was dead now. He had no more body with which to feel the pain. He drifted off to meet oblivion.

  ---

  Neil gasped for air after regaining consciousness. He was not on fire. Instead, he was floating three feet above his bed, completely dripping with sweat. He lowered himself back onto his bed, and sat up.

  A hurricane had passed through his room. Clothes, splinters of wood, legos, and hundreds of pieces of other debris were scattered around the room. Neil had not yet made sense of the situation when he heard a furious knocking on his door.

  “Neil, wake the fuck up! Holy shit, get up! You fucking psycho, what did you do?!”

  Even though the voice was muffle
d through the door, he could tell it was General Steele.

  He stepped out of bed, and carefully walked over to the door. He dodged debris and broken glass on his way. He opened the door to find Steele standing before him in his underwear.

  “Finally, Jesus Christ! What were you thinking? Did you do all that on purpose?”

  “Do what?”

  “Do what? This, you psychopath!” Steele stepped out of the doorway to show Neil the rest of the office behind him. The gallery was in complete disarray. At first glance, it looked like a bomb had gone off. There was broken glass everywhere from the shattered wall behind the reception room. Papers and office supplies covered the floor. Computer monitors laid smashed on the ground. Desks and cubicle walls were demolished, and several of the doors to the office rooms had been blown off their hinges. Several people were rushing around the room, while others were lying on the floor or under desks, trying to protect themselves.

  “I’m so sorry. I…I had a nightmare.”

  “A nightmare? A fucking nightmare?! You’re telling me you destroyed the entire department because a scary monster jumped out from under your bed?”

  There was no point defending himself. It was an accident. His lack of control was the cause for all of the damage.

  “It was an accident, ok?! I was asleep – I didn’t know what I was doing. Is anyone hurt?” Neil asked.

  Steele tried to calm himself down.

  “Not seriously. Someone got a cut on their leg from a piece of glass, and I saw another guy get hit in the head with a coffee mug, but other than that everyone is ok. Look, I don’t know exactly what the fuck you are, but you’re supposed to be on our side. You’ve got to get that shit under control. I know you don’t want anyone to get hurt because of you.”

  Steele was right. Neil was losing control. He had to put a leash on his ability or it would only get worse. He would never forgive himself if he hurt someone he cared about because he lost control.