Comes Great Responsibility

by Chuck Kienzle

  “Apollo is perfectly healthy for a standard powered person, except, as Ms. Tarlock pointed out, for a very small area in his brain,” Doctor Franks said.

  The display focused on the brain and showed the dark spot.

  “The area of the cerebrum that show the damage is known as the PCA, power control area. It is the area of the brain that usually controls extra or extreme super powers. I will have our neurological specialists confirm it, but that damage is probably why Apollo can not access his non-physical powers.

  “How long will it take to heal?” John asked.

  “We don't know if it will heal,” Doctor Franks said.

  “Can you do anything to repair the damage?” I asked.

  “I don't know, however, perhaps our Visitor's might have some experience in this matter. They seemed to have experience dealing with people with Apollo's abilities,” Doctor Franks said.

  Chapter 9 – Wednesday, July 21, 10:45 AM Mountain Daylight Time

  Both Krelick and Abilola insisted that they needed their people out of Isolation before they would help. Based on Doctor Franks advise, the Director refused. John and I negotiated a compromise. As a show of good faith, the medical specialists among the Visitors would be able to review John's examination results in a meeting room in Medical. They would wear special surgical masks and sterile gloves.

  John, Kim, Doctor Franks and I sat on one side of the table. Five Visitor's sat across the table from us. With Abilola and Krelick were two medical experts and a woman named Mandisa. Abilola said that Mandisa was the only other person in the group would was fluent in English. She was a little shorter than most of the Visitors, but, like the rest of them, very physically fit. She was of African origin with her hair in short dreadlocks.

  Abilola'a expert was a man called Kabil. He was a tall man who looked Native American. He openly denigrated our primitive technology. Krelick expert was an Asian looking woman called Bora. I was not sure that I entirely trusted Krelick's translations, but she did not seem to be a stuck up as Kabil.

  A hologram of John's brain floated over the middle of the conference table.

  “As you can see, the damage is in the frontal lobe of the cerebrum,” Doctor Franks said.

  Kabil said something and Mandisa translated,” It is the area that controls psionic abilities. Who ever did this was very precise. There is no damage to the surrounding brain tissue.”

  “Have you ever seen such damage before?” Doctor Franks asked.

  The five were quiet. Bora's heart rate and respiration spiked.

  Bora knows something, I heard Kim's thoughts.

  “Mr. Bora, do you have something to say?” I said.

  Krelick said something to Bora in their language and then said, “He has nothing to say.”

  “Mr. Krelick, please translate what you just said,” John said.

  “He told him to keep silent,” Mandisa said.

  Krelick gave her a look of death and was about to say something when Abilola held up her hand. He backed down, but did not like it.

  “Perhaps, Mr. Bora has more to say?” Doctor Franks said.

  Bora looked at Krelick and then at his Southern counterpart, Kabil. He said something to Kabil and the other medical specialist nodded his head.

  Mandisa translated.”Bora asked if Kabil will confirm that the brain alteration was used to control people with rogue psi abilities.”

  “I, assume, when Mr. Kabil bowed his head, he was agreeing?” I said.

  “Yes, that is correct,” Abilola said.

  “Can it be repaired?” I said.

  Bora looked at Krelick again and bowed his head.

  “There was a healer from the Northern Alliance who might have been able to heal Apollo, but she is dead,” Krelick said.

  Bora does not agree.

  The Northern medical specialist spoke and Mandisa translated,”I worked with her just before her disappearance. I swore never to tell anyone, but I saw the Warrior Malko fly away with her. They both wore pressure suits.”

  “Spacesuits?” I said.

  “That is what you call them. Bora said that after a meeting with The Destroyer the healer feared for her life. He believes that Malko took her to a place of safety.” Mandisa said.

  “And where would that be?” John said.

  “He believes she was taken to the safest place off planet, Luna,” Mandisa said.

  “This Malko flew the healer to the Moon?” I said.

  “Can you not do that?” Krelick said.

  Of course, I could fly to the Moon. I followed John to the Moon shortly after I manifested my full powers. Although I could tolerate no atmospheric pressure, I could not hold my breath forever.. I carried enough oxygen for the trip. We had gone to help finish the prison for powered people deemed too dangerous to stay on Earth.

  “You are saying that the one person who might be able to help John is on the Moon in your universe,” Kim said.

  “Bora cannot be sure, but it is his best guess,” Mandisa said.

  She stopped, her eyes grew wide and she looked towards the back of the complex. Her eyes seemed to focus on something beyond the room, just like John's did when we were in the cafeteria and he was following the security meeting.

  I followed her look and “saw” a slight distortion where the portal from the other Earth had formed. I concentrated and “saw” a faint image of a woman. The same woman who almost came through the portal before. A very angry woman.

  Mandisa gasped and said,”She is coming.”

  “Command, we may have another incursion at the site of the Visitor's Portal,” I said over my comm link..

  “This is a priority one security alert. All non-security personal report to your assigned secure stations,” we heard over the intercom.

  John and I both stood up. We looked at each other and after he nodded, John said,” I will be in Control.”

  An hour later, I stood outside Intake with Ben Bronson and Kelly Price. They both were more than a little uncomfortable in black body armor. Even though neither of them had used their powers in combat for years, both John and Director Tenneth asked them to assume an active role in this situation. They were the most powerful resources we had on quick notice. Against the Director's wishes, John had tried to contact Saifullah, unfortunately, the rogue power had not responded.

  Although Mandisa and I could “see” The Destroyer more clearly, there still was no visible evidence of anything where the Visitor's portal had existed. Technicians set up the monitoring equipment around the site. The Visitors' experts on inter-dimensional portal technology theorized that the warrior was in the middle of the portal when it closed.. Somehow her powers interacted with the portal and the nuclear blast and put her in a small pocket universe that was connected to our world. She was, slowly forcing her way into our reality. The question was how long it would take her.

  I wondered how she could survive that long without breathing and how long her energy would last. The experts theorized that time moved much more slowly in the pocket universe. It moved fast enough for her to try and fight her way through, but slow enough so she continued to survive.

  “The scanners are showing the gravimetric disturbance slowly increasing and the temperature has jumped five degrees Celsius,” I heard over my comm link.

  “How long do we have?” Price asked.

  “The experts say soon, although they are still complaining about our out dated technology,” Control said.

  Then, I saw the air in front of me shimmer and could see a faint image in visible light. The Destroyer was coming.

  “Ben, now!” I said.

  Bronson reached out with his power and said,”I can't feel anything.”

  The Destroyer had not become solid yet.

  “Wait, I can feel her. I have created a barrier, but I don't think it will hold,” he said.

  “Kelly, your turn,” I said.

  Price concentrated and a bright spot appear in front of her chest. I could “see” it emit a be
am of x-rays that struck The Destroyer. I created a similar beam with my pyrotechnic power an targeted the same spot on The Destroyer. The woman became more solid and I could not help but see a resemblance. She looked, almost, like a sister. Despite our efforts, the she looked unharmed and had grown solid.

  “Kelly, stop,” I said as I flew forward at The Destroyer. Fortunately, for me, Kelly listened to me. I hit The Destroyer with everything I had and she did nothing but shudder for a moment. Kelly fired another beam of x-rays at The Destroyer's head. The Destroyer tried to reach out her arms but some sort of dimensional barrier held her back. My hands were on her chest and they began to burn. Suddenly, I felt The Destroyer weaken and she was pulled back and for the first time in my life, I blacked out.

  I was in the middle of the desert. It was about fifty miles from the Agency headquarters. It was barren and the place that John favored during my training. John and I were in our uniforms and stood next to each other.

  “What do you see?” he asked.

  “The setting sun,” I said.

  “Why is it setting?” he said.

  “It is in the west,” I said.

  “On the other side of the world, it is a rising sun,” he said.

  “It depends on where you stand,” I said.

  “Remember that,” John said.

  I woke up, naked, in a closed diagnostic bed. I was very, very tired and for the first time in my life, I hurt all over. I “looked” around and was glad that I could “see” outside the closed clam-shell doors. John, Doctor Franks, a medical technician named Betty, the two Visitor medical specialists and Mandisa were in the examination room's control room.

  “Ms. Tarlock, how do you feel?” I heard Doctor Franks say.

  Both my hands were heavily bandaged. I “looked” down at my hands and they looked intact, the skin was red, like a bad sunburn. My bio-shield was noticeably weaker than normal. My pain was slowly going away.

  “I feel tired and hurt all over, but that seems to be getting better,” I said.

  “Good. Just relax,” Doctor Franks said.

  I “looked” into the hall outside the room and “saw” John, Kim, Kelly and BB. They all looked tired and it looked like they had slept in their clothes.

  “Why are my hands bandaged?” I said.

  “Both your hands were badly damaged. At first, we thought we might have to amputate them. Then they began to heal, far faster than normal. You have been in a coma, we assume to allow your body to heal,” Doctor Franks said.

  I had never experienced anything like that and to my knowledge, neither had John. Of course, I had never been injured like that either.

  “How long was I in a coma?” I asked.

  “Almost twenty four hours. Your vitals look good and your bio-shield has partially regenerated. You can get up, now,” the Doctor said.

  The clam-shell door opened. The female nurse came over and gave me a gown to wear. I sat up and put the gown on.

  Doctor Franks and the three Visitors walked over to the diagnostic bed.

  “You are a very luck woman,” Doctor Franks said.

  “What happened?' I asked.

  “Mr. Bronson managed to pull you back when The Destroyer was pulled back into the portal, which then closed. Most of your skin and flesh was gone from your hands. Your bio-shield had, almost, faded. You were almost dead. It was your own regenerative abilities that saved you. I advise you not to try that again,” Doctor Franks said.

  Almost dead? I had never, truly, faced my own mortality. John and my parents had warned me not to take my life for granted. As powerful as I was, there were things in the universe more powerful. I believed them, but always thought such things were rare and usually not on Earth. I had been proven wrong and that scared me.

  Doctor Franks and the others left the room, except for the nurse. I got out of the bed and the nurse pointed me to the clothes on a bench on the far wall. I put on the panties and bra. I sat down and pulled on the black slacks and then pulled the white shirt over my head. I put on white socks and black loafers. Everything fit and I looked like a typical headquarters' agent.

  I walked out of the room and Kelly went over and hugged me. When she let go, BB gave me a hug. It reminded me of how we had been five years ago. We were friends and they still cared.

  “We were so worried,” Kelly said.

  I smiled. I had ignored them for most of the past five years and they still cared and so did I. John came over and patted my shoulder.

  “Glad your hands healed. I was afraid that I would have to call you Stumpy,” he said.

  We all laughed. I had been very lucky. Yes, I had done what I had to do, but I did not think about what I was doing, I just reacted. I had never been hurt like that. My life was never really in danger. It was a wake up call.

  “Well, I have an appointment with the Doctor to check if I am healing,” John said as he pointed to his head.

  “And you, Ms. Tarlock should rest,” Doctor Franks said as he walked out of the exam room.

  “I am more hungry than tired,” I said.

  “Then I prescribe lunch, then rest,” the Doctor said.

  “The cafeteria may not have as good of food as the restaurant, but is is more convenient,” Kelly said.

  The cafeteria was nearly full for lunch. The room fell silent when we walked in. Half the people turned and looked at me. Some smiled. Some nodded and some gave me a quick salute. Then they went back to eating. The cafeteria had a full staff and, therefore, real food. I got steak, mashed potatoes, corn and coffee. I thought I would eat that before going for desert. The three of us sat at a round, side table. I dug into my lunch while Kelly and BB watched.

  “You two never saw anyone eat?” I said.

  “Well, she did say she was hungry?” Kelly said to BB.

  “How will the Agency deal with the media?” I said.

  There was no way the incident could not have been seen outside the air force base.

  “Probably some sort of training exercise. What ever story the PR people tell is above our pay grade, well, maybe not above yours,” BB said.

  “I am not sure about that,” I said.

  I had forgotten how good it was to be with them. Initially, I did not want to see anyone associated with the Agency and, especially, anyone I knew with David. After a couple of years, I assumed that they would not want to see me.

  “It is good to see you again and I am glad you are well, but it has been a long time. We tried to stay in touch. Sent you a wedding invitation,” BB said.

  “Thank you, for that. I did RSVP my regrets,” I said.

  “And that is all we heard from you in five years,” Kelly said.

  “It was hard,” I said.

  BB slapped the table and said,” It was hard for us too. We lost David and you. We were forced to kill people at the disaster.”

  “Not like I did,” I said.

  “Bullshit. It was war and he was the enemy. BB and I had lots of therapy and you know what we found out; we were stuck there. Until we were able to let go of it. Let go of the pain. We could not go on with our lives. We lost a lot of time,” Kelly said.

  “You both gave up being heroes,” I said.

  “Fighting the bad guys? Yes. But we did not give up our abilities. We both have done disaster aid. We have worked in rescue and recovery from natural disasters, and some man made ones too,” BB said.

  “There were a lot of lives we saved or made better,” Kelly said.

  I looked down at my coffee. There was not much I could say in my defense. That was another reason I did my best to avoid the news. I did not want the responsibility. I knew that I could not save everyone, so I chose not to save anyone.

  “You must think I am horrible,” I said.

  Kelly reached over, touched my hand and said,”No. Each of us must deal with loss, pain and grief in our own way. BB and I had each other. We thought, at first, you might have turned to us or Apollo.”

  I shook my head and said,”
I am sorry, but you two were a reminder of David. John was a reminder of what I could and could not do with my power. I am sorry that I took off without saying goodbye.”

  “So, you won't do that again?” Kelly said.

  I put my other hand on hers and said,”No, not this time.”

  We spent the next two hours talking about our lives over the past five years. They had no children yet, which was not unusual for powered people. Perhaps to compensate for longer lives, a powered woman only can have two or three children, and those usually after the age of forty. They hoped that they would start a family soon.

  After lunch, I went back to my room. I was tired. I would call my parents, I was sure they had seen something in the media about yesterday and they would be worried. I knew that my decision to leave the life of Artemis had been the right one. But, I could not avoid the guilt that I left my friends, who gave me no reason to leave them, except my own selfishness. I was justified in being selfish. But, as they said, maybe it was time to let go. For too long, I “lived” in those moments of pain and only visited the present. Like Kelly and BB, I did not want to fight the bad guys. Maybe, I thought, I could help the good guys.

  I called my mother and let her know that I was OK. She told me that she had seen reports of the battle. Unfortunately, all video was embargoed by the Agency. The media was in an uproar, but by the time the courts ruled in their favor, the news cycle would move on. At least, the Agency's PR department hoped so.

  After I talked with my mother, I felt a little tired and decide to take a nap. The next thing I heard was my wake up alarm at eight AM the next day.

  Chapter 10, Friday July 22, 10:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time

  The next day, we sat in the same meeting room that we used to discuss John's medical situation. Doctor Franks, the two Visitors medical specialists, John and Mandisa sat in the room with me. I felt much better when I woke up. After a breakfast in my quarters, I went back to the examination room. Based on the results, Doctor Franks released me, but no for active duty.

  “As you can see,” Doctor Franks said, referring to the image of my body that rotated over the center of the meeting room's table,” Ms. Tarlock has recovered surprising quickly from from her trauma.”