by Lucas Flint
“How did he plan to do that?” I said.
“By founding Vision and naming himself the Visionary,” said Triplet. “He used his mind powers to brainwash certain superhumans influential within the community, like Thaumaturge, into joining his cause. But more sinister than that is the ideology he crafted to support his cult.”
“What is it?” I said.
“He called it Visionism,” said Triplet. He stopped scrolling down the page and said, “According to Sagan, Visionism is an ideology that proclaims complete and absolute equality between superhumans and normal humans. It claims that there are no inherent biological differences between superhumans and normal humans and that any that appear to exist are nothing more than social constructs that we, as a species, must learn to overcome if we are to achieve true equality between superhumans and normal humans.”
“That's basically what the Young Neos told me when I first met them,” I said. “Are you telling me that Sagan programmed this belief system into them?”
“If not him, then one of the already brainwashed teachers at the Academy,” said Triplet grimly. He looked at the rest of us. “And what is even worse is that Sagan appeared to actually believe it himself. He truly believed that he would lead our country to a utopia in which everyone lived in peace and no one ever had to fear that some freak in a mask with more power than sense would attempt to exterminate them.”
“That doesn't sound so bad to me,” I said.
“In theory, maybe, but in practice, Sagan carried on an incredibly subversive, brutal, and, in my humble opinion, downright evil plan to become society's ruler,” said Triplet. “You've seen how crazy believers of Visionism are. They will lie, break the law, and do whatever they can to further their cause no matter how immoral it may be. They'll even kill anyone they deem a threat to their utopia, which, according to Sagan's journal, they've done more than once.”
I shuddered, remembering how the Young Neos had tried to kill me just a few days ago. “Is that why Sagan was running for President? In order to achieve his goal of a utopia?”
“Pretty much,” said Triplet. “He didn't want to originally, because he thought Visionism itself, once embedded in the 'superhuman subconscious,' as he called it, would be sufficient to 'tame' us and destroy whatever threat we posed to the rest of humanity.”
“But he was wrong,” I said. “Wasn't he?”
“Yes,” said Triplet. “Even though he managed to successfully take control of the Academy and the Young Neos, he realized that there were still thousands or tens of thousands of neoheroes and villains all over the world who did not believe in Visionism. He knew that many superhumans never even looked at the Academy, which meant that they would likely oppose Visionism if they ever learned of it. And that, of course, would make it impossible for Sagan to build the utopia he was working toward.”
“So he ran for President in order to become a dictator,” said Dad. He sounded depressed, likely because he was a Sagan supporter.
“Precisely,” said Triplet. “His plan, when he got into office, was to orchestrate a false superhuman rebellion and then claim emergency powers in order to squash it and 'save' the country. He intended to use the government to seize control of the Neohero Alliance, the Independent Neoheroes for Justice, and a few other smaller superhuman organizations for 'accountability' purposes, killing or imprisoning any members of those organizations who resisted and replacing their leadership with superhumans loyal to Visionism.”
“So Plutarch was never an accomplice to his plans or anything like that?” said Dad hopefully.
“Never,” said Triplet. “Sagan always saw Plutarch as a threat, so he tried to have Steel Skin kill him and, later on, discredit him with Firespirit. He actually hired Firespirit to attack his rally, hoping that Plutarch's past association with Firespirit would lead everyone to believe that Plutarch had been behind it. Nail Gun, however, was just supposed to be an old-fashioned assassination, though that obviously failed.”
“Was it Sagan who bailed them out of Ultimate Max in the first place?” I said.
“Yeah,” said Triplet. “He used Plutarch's name to hide his real identity. And not only that, but Sagan and his granddaughter wiped the minds of Steel Skin and Firespirit in order to make sure that they did not reveal who their real employer was.”
“How did he wipe Steel Skin's memories?” I said. “Sagan wasn't at the Plutarch rally.”
“Ah, but his granddaughter, Sarah Jane Watson, was,” said Triplet. “Incantation wasn't the only Young Neo there that day. Sarah was there with the anti-Plutarch protestors. She used her own mental powers to wipe Steel Skin's memories after he was defeated and then left before anyone noticed her.”
“So Sarah does have powers after all?” I said. “I was told she didn't.”
“Yet another lie from a family that seems to be built on them,” said Triplet, shaking his head. “As it turned out, Sarah was born with mental powers similar to Sagan's own, though not quite as strong. That's incredibly rare, seeing as most children of superhumans rarely take after their parents in terms of the powers they inherit. It is even rarer for grandchildren of superhumans to inherit their grandparents' powers, so Sagan got lucky here.”
“Like with me and Dad,” I said, gesturing at Dad. “How my powers are different from his, even though I'm his son.”
“Right,” said Triplet. “Sarah was a huge believer in Visionism, just like Sagan, so she did whatever her grandfather asked her to do, no matter how vile or immoral it was.”
“Did she campaign for him?” I said.
“Sometimes, but her real mission was far more sinister,” said Triplet. “She joined the Young Neos in order to legitimize the view that normal humans could be 'heroes,' too. She was the first ever 'normal' human to join the Young Neos, though we know, of course, that she was never really normal at all.”
“But why did she have to join?” I said. “Why did Sagan want normal humans to join superhuman teams and organizations?”
“Easy,” said Triplet. “Sagan wanted to weaken and cripple the NHA. By filling the organization with normal humans, that would make it much harder for it to fight back against Sagan once he won the election and became a dictator.”
“Because an organization of both normal humans and superhumans would be far weaker than an organization exclusively made up of superhumans,” said Dad, realization dawning in his voice. “Especially if those normal humans are followers of Visionism, which would make them more loyal to Sagan than to the NHA or any other superhero organization out there.”
“Spot on,” said Triplet. “It's one of the most cleverly devised plans I've ever had the displeasure of uncovering, and I have uncovered a lot of clever plans concocted by supervillains over the years. But this one puts all the rest to shame, because in some way, it has worked.”
“Worked?” I said. “How? Sagan is dead. With June in custody and with Sagan's files in your possession, it won't be long before everyone, normal humans and superhumans alike, know about Vision and its goals.”
It sounded reasonable and logical to me, but Triplet and Dad exchanged doubtful looks. Even Mom looked skeptical at my optimism, which annoyed me because I was sure I hadn't said anything wrong and wasn't sure why they were so skeptical about it.
“What?” I said. “What's the problem? Did I say something wrong?”
Triplet rubbed his forehead. “I agree that we should let the world know about Vision and what it's doing. In fact, I plan to release all of this information on the Internet as soon as I can, but you have to look at this from Sagan's point of view.”
“Why should I?” I said. “He's dead.”
“I say that because Sagan has been working at this for years,” said Triplet. “He didn't just start brainwashing kids last month. He has had his disciples steadily propagating Visionism for two decades now. His ideas have already infected a lot of the younger heroes and a fair amount of the older ones. The NHA and the neohero community in general are proba
bly a lot weaker than they otherwise would be thanks to his ideas.”
“But if we reveal his plans to the world, then the NHA will at least investigate Thaumaturge to verify the claims, won't they?” I said.
“Probably, seeing as there are still people in the NHA who aren't under Sagan's control,” said Triplet. “But that doesn't change the fact that a lot of people still hold to his ideas. It could lead to some unexpected consequences, maybe even a split in the NHA depending on how many people believe in Sagan's ideas.”
“Do you really think that that could happen?” I said.
“I do,” said Triplet. He closed laptop. “But that doesn't mean we should keep this information to ourselves. If there's one thing I believe in, it's that the truth must be spread no matter what and regardless of the consequences.
“What do you think will happen to the Young Neos?” I said.
“They'll probably be disbanded,” said Triplet. “Especially once it comes out that they tried to murder you and were aiding Sagan in his plans for world domination.”
I nodded, but despite that, I still felt a little concerned about that idea. “But they won't be punished, will they? Weren't they just controlled by Sarah? Isn't she the one who really brainwashed them?”
“I'm not sure,” said Triplet with a sigh. “No doubt Sarah's powers have influenced their thoughts, but it is equally possible that they are willing converts to Visionism. We won't know until they're arrested and interrogated.”
“Did Sagan's documents say why the Young Neos were trying to recruit me?” I said. “They were really insistent about me joining their team, at least until they tried to kill me.”
“There's no mention of you in particular in his journal, but I imagine they tried to brainwash you because you're another young neohero who wasn't under their control already,” said Triplet. “And a powerful and famous one, at that. If they had managed to get you on their side, they would have become even stronger than they already are.”
Again, I nodded. “Did you learn anything else?”
“That's about it so far,” said Triplet. “Like I said, Sagan has thousands of pages' worth of documents. It will take me a while to read and analyze them all.”
“Can you share them with me?” said Dad. “I'd like to read them as well.”
“Sure,” said Triplet. “I'll need all the help I can get to read and understand this stuff.”
“Are you going back to New York soon?” I said.
“Tomorrow, yes,” said Triplet. “I have to report back to my client. He'll be interested in learning that Plutarch apparently isn't the big bad villain we thought he was.”
“You can stay with us for the night,” said Dad, gesturing at the kitchen. “We have a guestroom that you can sleep in if you want.”
But Triplet stood up and shook his head. “Thanks, Ted, but I don't want to impose. I'll find my own place to sleep for the night.”
“All right,” said Dad. “But if you are ever in Texas, feel free to drop by and say hello. We're always willing to have you over.”
“Thanks,” said Triplet.
He picked up the laptop and walked past me. In a second, he was out the door, leaving me, Mom, and Dad all alone in the kitchen.
I didn't know what Mom or Dad were thinking, but I knew that I was thinking about what would happen once the truth about Sagan became known to the general population. Whatever would happen, I hoped we'd be prepared for it.
Chapter Eighteen
Over the next couple of weeks, things more or less returned to normal, much to my surprise. I went back to school, hanging out with Malcolm and Tara, who had apparently put aside their political differences and were talking to each other again. It seemed like the debate on Monday night had convinced Malcolm that Plutarch wasn't so bad, while Tara had shown some concern over the fact that Sagan had been shot by his own assistant. This was even before I told Malcolm about Sagan's true nature, which put him firmly on the pro-Plutarch side, albeit somewhat reluctantly.
I paid careful attention to the news. I learned that Plutarch had survived his assassination attempt, but was determined to keep campaigning all the way to Election Day, even if it meant having to do so from his hospital room bed. Once news came out that Sagan had been behind the attempted assassination, Plutarch's numbers skyrocketed and he actually won the election in the biggest landslide in US history. I knew that because Dad spent that night almost crying at the thought that Plutarch was going to be our next president, while Mom consoled him as best as she could. I didn't mind too much, even knowing Plutarch's campaign promises, mostly because Plutarch seemed like a decent man to me, despite his bravado and arrogance.
As for Sagan, I learned that he actually survived getting shot in the head, but it left him in a vegetative state. As a result, his campaign manager confirmed that he was withdrawing from the race, which forced Sagan's party to hastily find a replacement candidate who ended up losing horribly to Plutarch. I was shocked that Sagan had survived, but according to the reports, Sagan was unlikely to recover, which probably meant that his powers were inactive, too. That meant that Sagan was no longer a threat, but I still worried that he might experience a miraculous recovery at some point, however unlikely that was.
But I didn't worry about June, who was tried and then put in jail for attempted assassination on Plutarch, among other charges. When I last saw her face on the news, she looked almost suicidal, which made me realize just how loyal she had been to Sagan.
But the most important thing to happen in the aftermath of the election was the release of the Sagan's personal documents onto the Internet, courtesy of Triplet, though he used a pseudonym to hide his real identity.
To say that it was a bombshell was the understatement of the year. Although I was basically outside the neohero community, I learned from Triplet that the NHA leaders had read Sagan's journal, which named Thaumaturge and the other Young Neos as being part of Sagan's plan, and tried to arrest them. But apparently, Thaumaturge and the Young Neos fled Hero Island before they could be caught and their current whereabouts were unknown, though Triplet was searching for them and told me he would keep me up to date on his findings.
While I was worried that Thaumaturge and the Young Neos were still out there somewhere, I was glad to hear that the NHA had tried to arrest them. Triplet said that the NHA was not as infected as he thought and that a lot of NHA members were horrified to learn about the extent to which Vision infiltrated the organization.
But not everyone was happy about what happened to Sagan. I saw a lot of comments online from people who were claiming that this was all a conspiracy to make Sagan look bad, that June's confession was either a lie or an outright conspiracy created by the government to make sure Sagan didn't win the election, and that anyone who believed the 'Sagan Pages,' as the journals became known, was a fool and an idiot.
My alter ego's Neo Ranks page got a ton of hate from Sagan supporters, even though I hadn't actually killed Sagan. The only reason people seemed upset at me was because I happened to be there when Sagan was attacked. Granted, June had said I had broken Sagan's arm, but that seemed like a rather minor thing to get upset about.
What really upset the haters, as far as I could tell, was the revelation that Sagan was basically a supervillain who had been playing them like a fiddle. A lot of comments came from people who claimed to be young neoheroes themselves, who said that they were going to hunt down whoever had leaked the Sagan Pages online and would kill me if they ever saw me in real life. That made me glad that no one really knew my secret identity, because if these guys really were neoheroes, they could easily carry out these threats against me and my family.
As for Vision, Triplet told me that there were rumors going around that Thaumaturge had taken on the title of Visionary and that he had made the Young Neos into his new followers. But most NHA members and neoheroes in general condemned Vision publicly, especially the NHA Leadership Council, who said they would purge any Visionists they fo
und in the NHA. Aside from some anonymous Internet trolls, no one actually came out in support of Vision, which made it hard to tell how many Visionists actually existed. I suspected that a lot of them kept quiet because they didn't want to be rejected by the neohero community, which made it impossible to tell just who was a Visionist and who wasn't.
Despite all that, however, I was glad things were over. I was content at this point to just focus on my studies and lay low for a while, at least until the hate from the Sagan supporters and Visionists died down. My parents didn't even have to tell me to do it this time. I was just so worn out from everything that happened that I wanted to focus on something a little less stressful than exposing a crazy superhuman cult that almost succeeded in electing its leader to the presidency.
Still, every now and then, usually on the weekends, I'd put on my costume and fly somewhere. I generally went out into the wilderness or somewhere private, just to train with my powers. My parents actually didn't mind, even though they still didn't exactly approve of my superheroics. Probably because they knew that there was no way to convince me to stop being a neohero, so they were just going to let me do what I wanted.
One day, about a week after Election Day, I was lifting the massive metal block that I had originally used to learn how to use my super strength. By now, it was pretty easy for me to lift, because I was a lot more experienced with using my super strength, but it still provided me a great challenge anyway. I stood in the middle of an empty field with trees standing around me, which kept me hidden from anyone nearby. Not that there were any people nearby, seeing as this place was located in the middle of nowhere, but I liked the extra privacy it gave me anyway.
