Becoming Super

by Plowden, Richard A.

  Taia was livid but she nodded. “Yes sir,” she then locked eyes with Jesse and Kate and began to leave.

  Before she was gone, she paused. “Davis,” she said. Davis looked at her, still standing still at attention. “Your brother,” Taia paused. She didn’t know what to say. “He was a good soldier,” Taia then quickly left.

  She followed the soldier until they got in a truck. The truck took her home where her father was waiting for her.

  “Tomorrow,” Morris said. “You are coming with me to see Mr. Proof.”

  When Taia woke up the next morning she was elated. She showered and ran downstairs desperate to see Eli and make sure he was okay.

  Her father drove the two of them to the Stockade. When her father opened the door to the Stockade, there Eli was, standing there looking as normal as ever. When he saw Taia walk into the building, his eyes lit up.

  “Well he passed my test,” The General said. Taia smiled widely at Eli. Eli just winked.

  “But he hasn’t passed mine.”

  Taia turned around. It was the person she hated most in the world, the person that had gotten her and her friends killed. James Connor was standing at the entrance of the Stockade looking murderous.

  Chapter 14

  “What do you mean he hasn’t passed yours?” Taia asked. Connor ignored her and motioned his guards forward. They put large metal cuffs that covered all of Eli’s forearms and ankles that were controlled by an electrical key on Eli’s his arms and legs.

  Connor walked up to Eli.

  “You’re coming with me,” he said and then began pushing Eli out of the door and down the street. Eli stumbled as he could barely walk with the cuffs he had on. Some of the Sector 6 civilians were coming out of their homes and work sites to look at the prisoner. It was not often they got to see an unfamiliar face. It actually never happened. “General Morris told me your story boy. About how you took out 5 Supes by yourself. I’d like to see that proven.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” Taia said angrily to Connor walking with him.

  “I don’t answer to you cadet,” Connor said furiously. “I am the Lieutenant General.” He kept walking forward.

  Grabbing her father, Taia was furious. “General you have to stop this. Eli saved my life.”

  The General shook his head. “Lieutenant General Connor has made some solid points Taia. It’s only right for him to be suspicious. And if him doing this will help alleviate some of his fears, as well as the fears of the people in this Sector that I’ve been sworn to protect, then I will not stop him. He is my First Lieutenant.”

  Taia pushed away from her father before running up to catch up with Eli and Connor.

  “Let him go,” Taia said trying to wrench Eli out of Connor’s grasp.

  The Lieutenant General’s guards went to grab Taia.

  “Back off,” Eli growled at them angrily. They froze in shock. He had been so cooperative when they were putting the cuffs on to restrain him.

  “Taia,” Eli said softly. “It’s okay. I’m going to be okay.”

  “Listen to me Eli,” Taia said. “You have to be careful. I don’t know what he has planned but Connor,” Taia said glaring at the person she just mentioned “is not a good guy.”

  Eli smiled at Taia and winked. “I got this.”

  Connor snarled before pushing Eli forward and walking with him.

  The more they walked, the clearer it became to Taia where Connor was taking Eli. They were walking toward the Academy. Butterflies filled Taia as she had not been to the Academy since arriving back at Sector 6.

  Soon they had arrived at the stone steps of the Academy and Connor was shoving Eli forward up them.

  Connor’s goons forced opened the doors before forcing Eli inside and following him in.

  The General was still following them all with Taia walking directly behind Eli. Connor continued walking until he arrived at the gym of the Academy. Looking through the door, Taia could tell that the Cadets were currently being put through PT.

  They were all in their standard PT t-shirts and shorts. There were several different obstacle courses and weight-training stations set up that the cadets were on. Recognizing the majority of the faces, Taia could tell that this was her class, the senior class, currently undergoing Physical Training.

  The Lieutenant General and his guards pushed Eli through the doors into the gym.

  “Officer on Deck.” one of the cadets said. It was Wesley, Connor’s prodigy. Suddenly all of the cadets stopped doing their various tasks all at once and stood at attention saluting toward the doors.

  Connor smirked “At ease,” he said. But the cadets did not move.

  “At ease,” Morris said. All of the cadets simultaneously put their arms behind their back.

  The cadets could not move until the most senior officer told them ‘at ease’ after saluting. And the most senior officer in the room was the General. Connor scowled at him.

  “Cadets,” Connor said turning towards them. “Today we’re going to have a little demonstration.” He dragged Eli forward and began walking him to the center of the gym where it was empty space and no equipment. The cadets parted for him to make room as he walked.

  “I’m sure you all have heard,” he continued. “About the infamous hero that killed the Supes that killed your comrades. Well here he is for you all to meet. The legend that is Eli Proof.”

  All of the cadets looked at Eli, most of them glaring angrily.

  “Now according to his legend,” Connor said. “This boy killed five Supes. All on his own! So,” Connor paused and took out a small keycard. He ran it over the cuffs constraining Eli. The cuffs on his hands and feet were released and fell to the floor. “We’re going to have a little demonstration.”

  Connor began walking back toward the doors. “If he took out five Supes, he can surely handle five cadets. Wesley, Lang, Douglass, Porter, Bonner. You will be attacking Mr. Proof. Mr. Proof, you will be defending yourself.”

  These were the top five senior class cadets in the Academy, not including Taia. Wesley smiled smartly, like he had been waiting for this. But Jesse Bonner did not look nearly as excited. He locked eyes with Taia. He was her best friend and knew what Eli meant to her. But he was also a cadet of the Academy and he had to follow orders.

  If Eli could use his powers, Taia knew that these cadets would not stand a chance. He could take the five of them out without breaking a sweat. But he couldn’t use his powers. If he did, he would be exposed as a Supe and Connor would have him executed.

  If they attacked Eli, these cadets were going to beat him to death.

  Taia was beyond angry. “This isn’t right Connor and you know it!” she spat at him. “Especially considering you’re the traitor.”

  “That’s Lieutenant General Connor to you cadet,” he said sharply at Taia, staring at Eli. “And if this boy really did do everything you said and he took out 5 Supes all by himself, then surely these cadets should be no problem.”

  The cadets began surrounding Eli. Eli looked over at Taia and smiled reassuringly. Taia felt like she was back out in the Wasteland where Eli was there to take care of her. But she wasn’t, she was at home and she was supposed to be safe here. They both were.

  Jesse looked at Taia and just shrugged. As if to say ‘What am I supposed to do.’

  Wesley was the first to attack. He lunged forward at Eli with a right cross. Eli leaned back and dodged it. Lang then swept Eli’s feet and Eli fell with a hard thud. Douglass then made a move to stomp Eli while he was on the ground forcing Eli to quickly roll out of the way.

  Eli quickly got off of the ground.

  Wesley’s face flushed with anger and he lunged at Eli with a barrage of punches. Eli dodged or blocked them all before striking Wesley quickly in the trachea, forcing him to grab his throat and fall to one knee.

  The cadets all began looking at Eli shiftily while Connor was boiling with anger. “Get him!” he said sternly.

  Lang then threw a k
ick at Eli to his head at the same time that Porter swept him. Eli made his entire body vertical and twisted in midair in order to dodge both attacks before falling to the floor. He then hopped back up and hit Lang with a punch to the nose before kicking Porter in the stomach causing him to double over.

  Jesse threw a punch at Eli that was blocked. Eli countered with his own punch but Jesse repeated Eli’s own action. Jesse shrugged at Eli before hitting him with a knee to the stomach.

  The wind was knocked out of Eli as he was forced stumbling back.

  Connor was smiling gleefully.

  A recovered Wesley then hit Eli with a punch to his face causing blood to fly out of Eli’s mouth onto the floor.

  Taia made a motion to move forward but her father grabbed her holding her back.

  Wesley went to throw another punch but Eli put his hand up and stopped it. Eli looked up and met Wesley’s eyes before hitting him with an uppercut. Wesley was lifted off the ground and fell on his back out cold.

  Eli motioned for the rest of the Cadets to come at him.

  Porter then through a kick at Eli that was blocked. Eli then grabbed Porter’s leg and swung him into Lang knocking the both of them down.

  Douglass swung at Eli and Eli ducked under him and hit him with a punch to the gut. Eli then came up with an elbow to Douglas’s chin knocking him out.

  Now only Eli and Jesse were standing. Blood was trickling out of Eli’s mouth as he and Jesse stared each other down.

  Jesse threw a jab at Eli that was dodged. Eli came back with a left hook aimed at Jesse’s face that Jesse ducked under. But Eli brought a knee up to Jesse’s face, sitting him on the ground.

  Eli then turned and looked at Connor intensely not saying a word. All he did was wipe the blood from his mouth and fold his arms.

  Connor looked nothing short of murderous. “Cornwell, Montgomery, Parish,” Connor said. “Attack the boy.”

  “That is enough for today,” The General said looking pointedly at Connor. “Mr. Proof has passed your test Lieutenant General. There is no need to put the boy through more punishment. Or any of our cadets through anymore embarrassment.”

  Connor looked dejected but didn’t say anything.

  “Parish, Cornwell,” the General continued. “Do be of some use though and get your comrades some medical attention.”

  A boy and a girl broke from the group and ran out of the gym toward the medical bay of the Academy.

  A pensive look was on the General’s face as he walked up to Eli. “And you said you’re not from another Sector?” he asked calculatingly.

  “No sir.” was Eli’s reply.

  The General looked skeptical. “Hmm,” he began. “It’s pleasing to know that there are human factions not part of the Resistance out there fighting the good fight and training young men like yourself so adequately.”

  Eli nodded. “Thank you sir.”

  “But,” The General continued. “I still do not trust you around my people. So from here on out you will be spending your nights in the Stockade”.

  “Dad!” Taia said

  “That is an order,” The General said sternly. “He may have passed Connor’s test but I still do not trust him. I will not have him stay in the barracks with you cadets or with any Sector civilians and I can’t let him leave. Not if he is a spy. He might reveal our location.”

  Morris then closed his eyes, pinched his nose and sighed. “However. You will be free to come and go from the Stockade as you please. With Jesse Bonner acting as a guard at all times and with a curfew of 1900 hours for you to be in for bed. Cadet Bonner, you will guard Mr. Proof. He will attend Academy classes with you, he will eat with you, and by God he will go to the bathroom with you. Do you understand?”

  “Yes sir,” Jesse said from the floor, rubbing his jaw where he had been hit. But it was obvious he was not thrilled with his new duties.

  “Tony!” It was Connor’s turn to object the General’s orders. “You can’t allow that. This boy can be a spy for all we know. You said it yourself. Hell, he could be a Supe!”

  Eli and Taia’s eyes met for a split second before they looked away from one another.

  “That’s why he will have a guard at all times,” Morris responded.

  “A cadet!” Connor exclaimed angrily. “Put one of my men—“

  “A cadet you saw fit to fight him!” the General interrupted. “If he was a Supe, you just risked a cadet’s life. Not one of your men’s! Now you say it must have been Davenport who gave that order to take those cadets to that weapons plant but if you’re willing to put cadets against a potential Supe in a fight, maybe it really was you,” The General looked furious.

  “Now I gave an order and that’s that,” He continued. “And it’s ‘General’, James. Do not forget that.”

  He then walked out of the gym. Connor spared an angry look at Eli before following Morris out of the gym with his guards following him.

  Eli walked over to Taia and smirked. “Told you I had it handled,” he whispered.

  “Where did you learn to do that?” Taia asked curiously.

  “The Core,” Eli said. “Fighting without our powers is one of the first things we learn.”

  This didn’t make much sense to Taia but she was thankful for it. “Well powers or not,” she whispered. “There’s no way you could handle me.”

  Eli smiled looking down at Taia. “Don’t I know it?”

  Chapter 15

  The next few days were nothing short of interesting for Eli. He was now more or less a cadet of the Academy. The only differences between him and the other cadets were that all of the instructors called him ‘Mr. Proof’ instead of ‘Cadet Proof’ and that he wasn’t trusted enough to receive the standard energy pistol that all cadets and soldiers of the Sector were required to carry at all times. But this didn’t change the fact that Eli was doing everything that the senior grade cadets were doing. And he was excelling at it.

  Eli was given the standard uniform for a cadet. The uniform was beige and white camo pants with a beige t shirt that had the number ‘6’ on the back and black boots. He was also given a matching camo jacket just in case the summer days were colder than they usually were, but this did not happen often.

  He couldn’t go anywhere by himself, so every day at 0530 hours, Jesse would come to the Stockade to pick up Eli. They would then walk in silence to the Academy.

  They didn’t walk in silence because Jesse did not like Eli, he just did not trust him.

  Jesse Bonner was a lot of things: lazy, sarcastic, rude. But one thing he was not was stupid. He was actually exceedingly intelligent. It was why he was one of the top cadets in the Academy. And he had known Taia Morris his entire life. So it was easy to know when she was hiding something from him. And he knew that Eli Proof and Taia Morris were hiding something.

  So Jesse tried to talk to Eli as little as possible. He wanted nothing to do with the guy that was making one of his best friends lie to him. So this job of having to guard this stranger, was really taking a toll on Jesse. Especially since Eli seemed to not mind it at all.

  He never overslept. He was up every day ready for Jesse to escort him to the Academy for morning training. And he always seemed so excited about something in the Sector.

  The frequency in which he asked questions, Jesse could think that Eli was a spy. Except that most of the questions he asked wouldn’t benefit the Regime any in taking the Sector.

  Eli asked what the difference between the trade schools and the Academy was. And Jesse had to explain to him how the school was to help civilians learn different skills like being a doctor, an engineer, etc.; while the Academy was for individuals who wanted to serve the Resistance and fight against the Regime.

  He asked about what kind of currency they used in the Sector at the different stores and why no one seemed to live better than others. And Jesse had to explain how it was all electronic and managed by the Sector bank and everyone is given just what they need so no one else suffers.


  He even asked what holidays were celebrated by the Sector and what the festivities were like.

  But he never seemed interested in the Sector’s weaponry or defenses, or even what was going on with other Sectors.

  And of course Jesse had to report everything that he talked about with Eli to the General; which he initially felt bad for doing because he was betraying Taia. But she was betraying him to by not telling him what was really going on, so that guilt dissipated quickly.

  Jesse really couldn’t comprehend why she trusted this guy so much. Sure, if Taia’s story was true; he was pretty remarkable and he had saved her life, but she had still only known him a few days.

  Sure he was very attractive and kind and smart. He excelled in everything in the Academy. From PT, to strategy training, to the weapons course. It was almost as if this kid was born to be a soldier. Or as if he already was one.

  But even with all these traits, it didn’t make sense to Jesse as to why Taia would lie to her friends and family. He tried voicing his concerns to Kate but she insisted that this was just a crush and maybe Jesse was jealous of Eli spending so much time with Kate. But Jesse had to remind his dull friend that he did not roll that way.

  It was the second week that Eli had been at Sector 6 and as usual when Jesse and him arrived at the Academy, Taia was already there waiting.

  Taia and Eli shared a small smile as part of their daily routine before Taia would hug Jesse. He thought it was so weird how the two could be seemingly so close but the never touched. All they did was share small smiles and glances with each other once in a while. It was so nauseating.

  The day in the Academy passed as normal: Eli excelling, Wesley hating him, Jesse taking detailed notes on Eli’s behavior to report to the General. It wasn’t until courses at the Academy for the day had ended that the day shifted from the pattern that had developed over the past couple of weeks.

  “Hey Jess,” Taia said, as they all walked out of the Academy when classes were over. “I need to talk to you.”

  Jesse rolled his eyes. Whenever Taia called him “Jess”, this just meant she needed a favor.