Becoming Super

by Plowden, Richard A.

  “My husband made him a Captain.” Isla snarled looking dangerous.

  Scott shrunk into himself. “Yes ma’am. I didn’t mean any offense.” Taia again couldn’t help but think how odd this was considering that the Senator was the one who killed her husband.

  “Forgive him Senator,” Eli said smirking. “Matthew Scott has always hated me. That’s never going to change.” He then looked down at Taia and put out his hand. “Would you like to dance?” he asked her.

  Taia didn’t respond. She just smiled at Eli, got out of her seat and began walking with him toward the dance floor.

  “Who was that tool?” she asked.

  “That is Matthew Scott” Eli said stopping and wrapping his arms around Taia’s waist. “He is like me.”

  Taia blushed a deep red but hid it by looking back at Scott. She wrapped her arms around Eli’s neck. “What do you mean? He can control gravity?”

  “Not like me like that,” Eli said. “He’s like me in that both his parents were human.”

  “Really?” Taia asked. “He seems nothing like you.”

  “Yea well,” Eli began. “He didn’t have Blake’s father as a Commanding officer. He had Clements. He really fell into the ‘Transcended is best’ crap. I didn’t.”

  “Is that why he hates you?” Taia asked.

  Eli chuckled. “No that’s not why he hates me. He hates me because we were in the same recruiting class. And while I’ve known my powers since I was 7, Scott never discovered his.”

  “But that can’t be true,” Taia said. “He’s in the Core.”

  Eli nodded. “What I should have said is Scott never discovered his when I knew him. Remember I became a Core officer at 12. He must’ve discovered them since then but he and I haven’t exactly had contact.”

  “So he hates you because you were better than him?” Taia asked.

  “I wasn’t better than him just because I discovered my powers earlier,” Eli said looking Taia in the eye. “No person is better than the other. But he didn’t see it that way.”

  The way that Eli thought never ceased to amaze Taia. Here was one of the most powerful people she had ever met but he was one of the kindest and most humble too. Taia looked over at Scott. He was griming the pair.

  “Clearly,” Taia said to Eli.

  All of a sudden the most beautiful sound that Taia heard graced her ears. She looked towards the source of this sound to see where this angelic melody was coming from.

  On the stage in the middle of the room, a young woman with a band behind her had appeared and begun singing and playing music.

  “What do you hear?” Eli asked.

  “What?” Taia replied to him.

  “She’s Transcended,” Eli said pointing toward the girl on stage. “Her power is that when you hear her sing, you hear whatever voice you love the most in the world singing. No matter what, everyone hears a beautiful voice. So who do you hear?”

  Taia continued listening. It was amazing. It was the most comforting yet exciting; relaxing yet energizing song she had ever heard. And that voice; that voice was amazing. “I hear my mother,” Taia said.

  “Your mother?” Eli asked.

  “It’s incredible that she wasn’t able to tell that the singer was Transcended,” scott said. He had walked over to Eli and Taia. “Simply incredible.”

  “Back off Scott.” Eli said, walking away with Taia, leaving the dance floor.

  “Hold on there, civilian,” scott said to Eli, grabbing his arm to stop him. “I just want to know why you felt the need to explain that to her.”

  Eli sighed. “Because she’s from a small village,” he said convincingly. “They don’t have the same luxuries afforded in Carthage and other cities,” he then began walking away again.

  “What village?” Scott asked.

  “What?” Eli stopped and turned around.

  “What village is she from Proof? Actually,” Scott looked at Taia. “What village are you from sweetheart?”

  “Scott—“Eli began.

  “I’m asking her Proof,” scott said. “Now what village are you from civilian?”

  Taia took a deep breath. “I’m from a village in Region Nu.”

  “What’s the name of it?” Scott replied.

  “I’m sorry—“

  “What. Is. The. Name. Of. Your. Village?”

  “Six” Taia piped quickly.

  “Six?” Scott asked slowly. “I’ve never heard of a village called Six in Region Nu.”

  “Well it doesn’t matter if you’ve heard of it” Eli said. “That’s where she’s from. Now if that’s all you wanted to know, then we’ll be going.”

  “Oh I don’t think so civilian” Scott said. “One more question. What’s your power girl?”

  “Exploding vomit,” Taia said quickly. This is what she had told the Senator. And if it was good enough for her, it would be good enough for this douche. Or so Taia thought.

  “Show me,” scott said.

  Taia’s eyes widened. “What?”

  “Show. Me.”

  “Scott,” Eli said. “She’s not going to show you her puke.”

  “I order you to show me your puke civilian,” scott said. “Unless there’s a reason for you not to.”

  Taia looked at Eli and Eli looked at Taia. And all Scott did was smile.

  “She’s a human!” he said slimily.

  Eli immediately pushed Taia behind him protectively and simultaneously pulled out one of his pistols from the holster hidden in his tux jacket and pointed it at Scott’s face. “Back off.”

  Scott gave a maniacal laugh as everyone in the ballroom turned and looked at Eli and Taia.

  “You’re outnumbered you idiot!” Scott said. “It’s no way you make it out of this alive!”

  Eli smirked. “If that’s true,” Eli said. “I will not be the only one that dies tonight.”

  Scott snarled.

  “Eli,” Isla Gates began. Taia looked and saw her walking towards them. “What is this? What’s going on? Put that gun away.”

  Eli ignored her and it was Scott who spoke. “This girl is a human Senator,” he said. “An unregistered human. She’s part of the Resistance. And Proof here, is helping her. Look at his gun. They’re the ones who killed my officers. They’re probably planning something else!”

  “We are not planning anything!” Eli said. “I only need to get her home. This has nothing to do with the Regime.”

  “This has everything to do with the Regime!” Isla snarled. “She is part of the Resistance! Why else would you bring an unregistered human here? She was in my home!” she spat angrily.

  “Apologies Mrs. Gates,” Eli said. “But it had to be done.”

  “Give her to me,” Isla said nastily. “Or you will be given the same treatment that she will.”

  Taia’s mind was racing quickly. Proof and Taia were evidence that the Resistance had attacked the Core and killed its officers. This was all Isla needed to push her policy of hunting the Resistance down forward. This was bad.

  Blake stepped in between his mother and the pair, seemingly coming out of nowhere. “Eli!” he said, being very dramatic. “She’s human? Who would’ve known?” Blake then winked. All Taia could think was what a horrible liar Blake Gates was.

  “Well,” Blake said loudly, turning around in a circle to address the entire room “How about we all calm down? And can sort this out in the blink of an eye,” he put his hands on both Eli and Taia and then blinked. He blinked again.

  “Well that’s not good,” he said.

  “Blake, get us out of here,” Eli whispered furiously.

  “I can’t,” Blake said. “I think they’ve put up a barrier so people can’t teleport out. I waited too long.”

  Eli swore. Taia could see the look of worry and panic in his eyes.

  “Move out of the way Bartholomew,” Blake’s mother snarled. She grabbed her face and pulled a piece of her skin off.

  Taia thought it was the most disgusting thing she h
ad ever seen. Until she saw more. Isla began grabbing even more of her skin and ripping it off of herself revealing a much larger than her usual self, clawed humanoid green lizard. Taia was astonished. She had never seen anything like this. This is what Blake meant when he said that his mother was one to talk about Taia’s fake ability being disgusting.

  All around the room some of the other Supes were making similar transformations. Some growing extra limbs, some growing in size, some turning into stone or metal.

  Eli however did not seem scared. Instead, merely calculated.

  All of a sudden everyone in the room except Eli, Blake and Taia fell to the floor, seeming as if they were being crushed by 1000 tons, screams and grunts feeling the room. Eli’s face was intense.

  Scott started laughing on the floor.

  “You were always gifted boy,” he said. “You were a prodigy. But me, I didn’t know my powers for years. They just knew I was a Supe. I was so jealous of you and you gave it all up!”

  Scott looked up at Eli.

  “Who knew,” he started, grunting as he spoke. “That my particular power. Would be the only one in the room who could stop you.”

  Scott kept laughing as he started glowing. He kept glowing more and more until a blinding light filled the room.

  When the light had faded and Taia looked at Scott, he had burned away all of his clothes and seemed to be a being made of pure yellow energy. He slowly stood up and looked Eli in the eye.

  “All you’ll do is manipulate the gravity,” scott continued. “Because you’re weak. And that’s usually enough. But surprise, surprise, when it turned out my gift, made it so I can kick your sorry ass.”

  Eli’s brow furrowed deeper, with the gun still aimed at Scotts head.

  “Oh try all you want boy. You won’t be able to affect me like you can everyone else. I’m made of pure ionic energy. I’m immune to the laws of physics in this state”.

  Taia flinched as Eli pulled the trigger on the gun. But the bullet passed harmlessly through Scott.

  He barked with laughter. “You thought some human bullets could kill me?” he exclaimed. Scott grabbed Eli by the throat and lifted him in the air. Taia could feel the gravity slightly lift in the room as Eli was choked. This was not good. She looked at Eli. Were his eyes glowing?

  “I am Transcended!” Scott continued. “Such a basic human weapon cannot kill me!”

  “Then it’s good my weapon isn’t basic.”

  Scott fell as Taia shot him in his head with her energy pistol. The stillness in his body as it turned back to normal showed that the pistol’s setting was clearly set to kill.

  Taia looked at Scott’s fallen body. He deserved to die. It was kill or be killed. She should not feel guilty. But she did.

  She vomited. It didn’t explode.

  Eli grabbed her by the shoulders. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She could barely hear him but she nodded.

  “How?” he asked. “Your pistol.”

  “I told you I don’t listen well” she laughed bitterly, wiping her mouth. “It’s why I didn’t let them search me at the gate. I’m a soldier. I can’t go unarmed.”

  Eli looked at Taia with a small smile on his face. “Never listen to what I say again.”

  “Well!” Blake bellowed. “I hate to interrupt this most intimate moment. But there’s the small detail of us being surrounded by murderous Transcendeds with all of them very ready and very willing to kill us.”

  Though he seemed pretty stressed with a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead, Blake had the same cheesy grin on his face that Taia had come to know all too well. Eli however looked tired. Sweat was forming on his face as he concentrated on keeping the Transcendeds in the room under the power of his gravity.

  “It’s taking too much power,” He said. “To contain all these people. They’re too strong.”

  “Well then we’ve got to get out of here,” Blake said quickly. “Or we’re dead.”

  “We?” Taia asked looking around for an exit that didn’t involve going too close to a Supe that could at any moment kill you. “You’re the son of a Senator. There is no we.”

  “The son of a Senator that helped an unregistered human,” Blake said smiling slyly. “Even being royalty cannot forgive treason”

  “Bartholomew!!!” Isla screamed. Taia could not believe she could talk in that lizard form. She was now wriggling around on the ground beginning to gain the ability to move again. “What are you doing?!”

  The fact that she could speak, let alone move, spoke to her strength. But it also spoke to the fact that Eli’s strength was waning.

  “I am doing what is right mother,” Blake said turning towards her.

  “What issssss right?!” she said, tongue slithering. “Helping that, that creature! How issss that right?”

  “She is not a creature mother!” Blake yelled. All trace of his smile were gone. “She is a person. Just like you and me!”

  “She issssss nothing like me! She issss beneath me!”

  “Why?” Blake questioned. “Because you can do things that she can’t? Because you have abilities that she doesn’t? If we judge someone by what they cannot contribute to the world, instead of what they can, isn’t it us that are beneath them? Isn’t it us that are the monsters?!”

  Blake’s mother slowly began to stand. Taia looked at Eli. He was struggling. Soon he wouldn’t be able to contain the Transcendeds at all.

  “Bartholomew. I will personally have your head for this. I will take your life for being sympathetic to these beasts. Just as I took your fathers.”

  “Well then Mother,” Blake smiled. “Catch me if you can”

  As if electricity was in the air, it started crackling slightly, Taia could see purple lightning begin to emanate from a centralized place in the room, in front of Blake.

  “Impossible.” Isla said, speaking with something akin to both astonishment and surprise.

  Blake furrowed his brow deeply, screaming loudly. More lightning started coming out of the centralized location that Blake was concentrating on.

  “What’s going on?” Taia asked fearfully.

  “He’s breaking their barriers,” Eli muttered, still straining to hold the gravity. “Blake might be an idiot. But he’s one strong idiot.”

  “I’m not a strong idiot,” Blake all but yelled. He then turned and smiled at the pair. “I’m the STRONGEST idiot.”

  All of a sudden a large black hole opened up in the room, lightning and wind coming out of the hole.

  “Let’s go!” Blake yelled.

  “Go where?!” Taia exclaimed. “I’m not going in that! I’ll get electrocuted!”

  Blake looked confused back and forth from Taia and the black hole. “Oh that?” he asked. “Yea, I’m not sure what that’s for really. That happens in most of my vortexes. But I’m 90% sure that these things are harmless”

  Taia looked at him dumbfounded. “What about the other 10%?!”

  “Well I’m not sure about all of the side effects. Jeez.”

  Taia opened her mouth to say a smart retort when she all of a sudden she saw Isla Gates running towards her, teeth barred in her lizard form. Eli had lost control. Suddenly, Taia felt herself screaming as she was pushed to the vortex by Eli with a smiling Blake smiling running behind them.

  “Eli—Wait!” she screamed, looking back. But she didn’t think he could stop if he tried. All of a sudden the winds of the vortex were sucking them through. She saw Blake putting something on his face.

  “Woooooohooo!” she heard him scream.

  Taia could not breathe, she could not see. She felt that she was in a snowstorm filled with purple haze. She was out of oxygen.

  Then, just went she thought she was going to suffocate to death, she could finally breathe again.

  Taia heaved a deep breath, gasping for air, blinking quickly. She looked to her left and saw Eli on his knees just like her, doing the same thing. He looked up angrily at Blake.

  “I really ha
te you,” he said.

  Taia looked behind her. Blake was standing tall with a pair of black goggles with purple lenses and his dark purple scarf that matched his tux wrapped around his nose and mouth.

  He pulled down his scarf to speak. “Probably should’ve warned you,” he said mischievously. “It has a bit of a kick.”

  Still heaving, gasping for air Taia managed to spit out “You think?!”

  But still, Taia couldn’t be too mad at Blake. He had actually saved their lives. The powers of Supes never ceased to amaze her. Blake was able to teleport her, Eli and himself to a safe location. She just needed to figure out where they were.

  Looking around, for some reason everything looked very familiar. The long stretched road in front of them, the strange assortment of multiple different kinds of vegetation and trees. It was at that time Eli seemed to realize the same thing as her.

  “Blake…” he began.

  A loud crash behind her caused Taia to quickly turn around. Out of the third story, Isla Gates in all her Lizard glory, forked tongue out, had jumped out of one of the windows.

  Eli raised one of his guns and shot her out of the sky. She flew back, hit the building and began to slide down.

  “Well, all that’s going to do is make her angry,” Blake said, shaking his head.

  “Blake! What is this?!” Eli exclaimed. “Why would you teleport us directly outside the hall?!”

  “I told you they set up barriers Proof!” Blake said, smiling sheepishly. “I could break them, but only so much. Even now they’ve alarmed the entire Core and activated the city protocols. They’re putting the city on lockdown and put up teleportation barriers so we can’t hide or escape. I can’t teleport us outside the city, only within it.

  “Well then what do we do?” Taia asked.

  “We fight,” Eli said simply. “We fight our way out of this God forsaken city and then Blake can teleport us somewhere safe.”

  Suddenly dozens of Supes with various powers began crashing out of the building running towards the trio.

  “Or we run,” Blake said before taking off down the road. Taia looked at the horde of Supes coming towards them. She shared a glance with Eli before they both took off after Blake.