Becoming Super

by Plowden, Richard A.

  Connor shook his head. “No,” he said. “No, no, no. The virus has started having the effect of killing human fetuses in the past 2 decades; not causing the babies of human parents to be Transcended. That’s why we have so many stillborn births.”

  All of the Transcendeds looked at each other. “That doesn’t happen in the Regime,” Eli said.

  “Look,” Blake said. “This Core task force, it’s supposed to be huge and they’re coming after all of you.”

  “No,” The General said manically. “They don’t want my Sector. They just want him. I give him up, my Sector is safe. I give up the Supes, and keep humans and Supes separated, my Sector is safe. Just like it’s always been.”

  Morris seemed to be losing it. His face was white and he was looking desperate.

  “You give up Supes?” Taia asked, mind racing. “What does that mean?”

  But he ignored her. “I have to give all of you up,” he said. “I talked to him. He said if I give the Supe up, he protects us. Just give him the Supes. That’s how it’s always been.”

  Eli grabbed the General. The soldiers all turned their guns toward him but he didn’t care. “Talk to who?” he asked Morris. “Who told you if you give up the Supes, the Sector will be safe?”

  Tony Morris looked Eli Proof in his eyes and Eli already knew the answer to the question. “The Prime Minister of the Regime.”

  Chapter 21

  No one moved, everyone was in a frozen state of shock.

  Taia moved over to her father after Eli let him go in disbelief. “Dad,” she said fearfully. “What do you mean the Prime Minister? Dad, what’s going on?”

  “They have to go!” Morris yelled, tears in his eyes. “They will kill us. They will kill you! He has to take them just like he takes the children!”

  “Daddy what are you talking about?!” Taia asked. She didn’t understand any of this.

  “The Prime Minister,” Morris said desperately. “He came to me through a mirror of some sort with some girl right after your mother died. He said that Supes were being born to human families now. And if I gave him the babies, he wouldn’t destroy the sector.”

  Taia grabbed her mouth in shock. This wasn’t making any sense.

  “He gave me a machine. It’s in the hospital. Dr. Perry helped me. It’s why she delivered all the babies. We scanned the babies and if they were Transcended, we gave them to him. And we told everyone the virus was causing mothers to have stillborn births. I would’ve used the machine on this bastard,” he motioned to Eli “But the machine is too big and old to leave the hospital and I trusted my daughter and didn’t think she would bring a monster here.”

  “You son of a bitch,” Connor muttered. “My-My baby girl. You gave her away?” Connor was on the verge of tears. He had believed that his daughter had been stillborn and was gone. It was part of the reason he hated the Outbreak virus and Transcendeds so much.

  Morris looked at him sympathetically. “James….I’m sorry,” he said.

  Connor rushed him and began pummeling the man. “YOU. TOOK. MY. BABY. GIRL,” he said in between punches.

  “Help me with him!” Eli said as he tried to force Connor off of the General. The soldiers surrounding the group were frozen in shock. Fielding helped Eli grab Connor and pull him back.

  “Is she alive?!” Connor cried. “Is my Bella alive?”

  “I don’t know!” Morris said blood trickling from his mouth. “I never asked him what he did with them! You have to understand James, she was Transcended!”

  “I don’t have to understand a Goddamn thing!” Connor roared fighting to get to the General. “What if it was Taia?!”

  “I’d sacrifice her too for the sake of my Sector!” Morris roared.

  A pang of sorrow hit Taia’s heart. Her father hated Supes more than he loved her. But realization dawned on her too.

  “It was you,” Taia said with her eyes wide, staring at her father. “You sent us into a trap. You gave Connor the information on the plant knowing that he would send us in. All this time I was mad at him for manipulating me and you manipulated him.”

  Connor stared at Morris in disbelief. “Tony,” he said in shock. “Tell me you didn’t.”

  Morris didn’t speak for a moment. “I had to.”

  “Dammit Tony!” Connor yelled, clawing for him.

  “You sent me to my death,” Taia whispered to her father.

  “You weren’t supposed to go!” Morris said. “The Prime Minster wanted a show of loyalty. Wanted me to sacrifice a few of my soldiers to show loyalty to him. And as soon as I found out that you went Taia I begged for him to let you live! That’s why I sent cadets! I wouldn’t sacrifice real soldiers—“

  Taia slapped her father across the face. “We are real soldiers.”

  “Don’t you see?” The General asked, looking around obviously frustrated that no one could see his reasoning. “Don’t any of you see?! I had to do this! All of it! For the greater good! And that’s why I contacted the Prime Minister! He said if we give him up we live!” Morris pointed at Eli. “The Prime Minister told me a few days ago he thought that a Supe might be here but I had to make sure it was really the one he described before I sent him back. That’s why I sabotaged the reactor!”

  “You did what?!” Connor asked. “You are a lunatic! You could have killed everyone!!”

  “No!” Morris exclaimed. “I knew that wouldn’t happen! The Prime Minister is never wrong and he knew that this boy was the Supe he was looking for. So now all I have to do is send him back and everything will be back to normal! He told me if I send him back we will be okay!”

  “He lied to you.” It was the first time that Melisa, the girl that had arrived with Blake, had said anything. She spoke in a complete monotone. “You did something wrong. Because your deal with him is done. He’s sending legions of Core soldiers to attack your Sector. I’m guessing since he visited you before, he knows where this place is.”

  “Well, yes,” Morris began. “But we had a deal--”

  “That deal is over. He’s now revealed your location to the Core and it’s headed here.”

  “No!” Morris yelled. “I just talked to him!”

  “How did you do that anyway?” Eli asked. “How’d you talk to the Prime Minister?”

  Morris looked at Eli murderously. “He gave me a method of communication when he first came here after my wife’s death. And he teleports here to see me. I don’t know how he found us but he did. And recently, he contacted me looking for you. So that’s what I’m doing. And we’ll all be safe! This Core talk is nothing but nonsense.”

  “It’s not nonsense,” Blake said. “They’re coming. And we came here to warn you all and help you fight.”

  “Then why aren’t they here yet?” Connor asked. It was clear he was still angry but he had calmed down enough to begin analyzing the situation. “If they really know where we are, why not teleport here and kill us all?”

  “Too many to teleport,” Eli said. “No teleporter is that strong. Except maybe Blake here and even then teleporting enough people for a Core legion would nearly kill him.”

  “I could handle it easy,” Blake said cockily.

  “How many people are in a Core legion?” Taia asked.

  “2000,” was Eli’s reply.

  “2000?!” Connor exclaimed. “You’re telling me I’m supposed to believe 2000 Supes are coming here?”

  “4000 are,” Melissa said. “The intel was that there are 2 legions coming.”

  “That’s bullshit!” Morris exclaimed. “Just leave us be and no one will come!”

  “Sir!” a soldier ran up to the General, breating heavily. He had obviously not been around for everything that had just transpired. “There’s a report on our sensors. Regime soldiers are marching towards us. Thousands of them! About two hours out.”

  The General was speechless, he didn’t know what to say. “But maybe they’re going somewhere else,” he stammered.

  “Thousands marching in the Wast
eland with nothing else in sight for hundreds of miles but this place?” Eli asked. “Not likely.”

  “General Tony Morris,” Connor began. “You are hereby arrested for crimes against your Sector and crimes against the Resistance.” Two soldiers came up and cuffed Morris. “Take him to the Stockade,” Connor said to them.

  But Morris only had eyes for Taia. “You can’t trust him baby,” he said to his daughter. “He’ll kill all of us.”

  Taia walked up to her father and looked him in the eye with tears falling down her face. “No General. Evidently that’s you,” The soldiers then took him away.

  “Well,” Blake said with a smile, breaking a long and painful silence. “That was dramatic.”

  Taia and Eli soon found themselves in the Sector headquarters with Jesse, Blake and his team of Supes, and Connor with his most trusted soldiers. Eli had finally changed into some new clothes, wearing a cadet uniform that was not burned and tattered.

  “It’s your fault that this is all happening in the first place!” Connor roared at Eli.

  “No,” Taia interrupted. “It’s my father’s fault. For working for the Regime for the past 2 decades and sending Sector 6 citizens away. He got himself into this. He got all of us into this.” Taia still couldn’t believe it. Her father had been sending away babies just because they were Transcended and telling people that their babies were born dead. She didn’t know if those babies were dead or alive now, but in the back of her head, she made sure that she would find out.

  And it just so happened that Connor’s daughter was one of these children. Connor now had both Tony Morris and Dr. Perry arrested and in the Stockade. They were in cells without trap doors. Taia was sure that Connor would deal with them later accordingly if they all survived this entire ordeal.

  Connor sighed. “We can handle this ourselves,” He said. “Now I need you all to leave. You’re lucky I don’t kill you.”

  “Handle it yourselves?” Eli asked. “You need all the help you can get! They’re sending two Core legions over. Do you know what that means? That means 4000 Transcendeds ready to kill all of you are knocking at your front door!”

  “It’s more of us than them!” Connor said angrily.

  “All of your people aren’t soldiers Lieutenant General,” Eli said. “And if you don’t accept our help, they’re going to die.”

  “Man!” Blake said, looking between Eli and Connor. “There is a lot of tension here. I’m very uncomfortable.”

  Eli ignored him. “You need my help Connor,” he said.

  Connor stared at him before opening his mouth to respond.

  It was at that moment that something odd happened in the room. Something that seemed to be a large mirror appeared in the middle of the room. The Prime Minister and his assistant stepped out of the portal.

  “Wow,” Blake said in astonishment and shock.

  Connor and Taia both pulled out their pistols and pointed them at the pair.

  “Oh put those away,” The Prime Minister said, wearing a sleek gray suit, looking as young and handsome as ever. “Unless you want me to destroy your entire Sector.”

  Taia immediately put hers down but Connor didn’t. He fired a shot from the pistol at the Prime Minister. A small mirror portal opened up and intercepted the shot.

  “Connor!” Eli said sternly. “Stand down.”

  “Friends of yours?” Connor asked, pistol still raised.

  Eli lifted his hand and pulled Connor’s pistol from him using gravity.

  The Prime Minister began walking around the room. “Quite a quaint little place you have here,” he said, taking his finger and wiping it across the table for dust. “It’s very charming.”

  “How did you get in here?” Eli asked.

  “You can thank my associate for that,” The Prime Minister said motioning to his very attractive assistant; the same one from the Theatre. “Maya is able to teleport anywhere in the world. She’s been in my employ since she was a child.”

  “But how did she teleport you exactly where we were?” Blake asked. “That’s impossible.”

  “Oh yes,” The Prime Minister said, walking towards Blake. “You claim to be the most powerful teleporter in the world. With your destructive vortexes. Well now you know that is not true.”

  Blake looked flabbergasted.

  “Listen,” Fielding began. “If you’re about to blow up this place, then I need to get the hell out of here. I’m all for saving the world for what little time it has left, but I’m not trying to die. So if your sexy friend there wants to let me through one of those mirrors….”

  “Hush boy,” The Prime minister said looking disgustedly at Fielding. “I’m not here to kill you all. My legions will do that for me. You’re not worth the little effort that it would take.”

  “Then why are you here?” Taia asked.

  The Prime Minister paused and looked at Taia. He began walking over to her. “I wanted to get a look at the girl that would cause a boy to betray his entire race.”

  He then grabbed Taia by the throat and lifted her in the air. Eli ran over and tackled the Prime Minister. He grabbed him by his suit and lifted him off of the ground, his eyes were glowing.

  “There it is,” The Prime Minister said smiling. “There’s that power.” He then grabbed Eli’s arms and made him let go, pumping radiation into Eli’s body. Eli dropped to his knees.

  “I tried to harness that power,” The Prime Minister continued, looking down at Eli. “For the Regime. When you were a child. But you were too afraid, too weak to use it. And now, here you are using it for some human girl.”

  Everyone in the room was frozen. They knew not to move against the Prime Minister for fear of being destroyed.

  “I won’t kill you Mr. Proof. I won’t even use my power to decimate your new home. But I will release my legions upon it. And they will kill these humans. But I know that you will survive because you are special. I will tell you what I have never said in my 72 years. And what was said to me. You are the strongest Transcended I have ever encountered. And you will take my place. But you will earn it.”

  The Prime Minister then let Eli go and walked over to Maya. “You will fight me in 2 years at the next Cycle Eli. And you will kill me and take my place. You will serve the Regime as I have and as the Prime Minister before me has. It is time. Or….you will die. And I will stay the strongest. Until then, harness you power. Because if you are not ready, I will kill you and everything you love.”

  Maya then opened up a portal and her and the Prime Minister began walking towards it before he paused.

  “I am assuming the General is not here because you found out about your father,” The Prime Minister said, looking at Taia. “Do not be disappointed in him, he was only trying to save his people, the only way he knew how. But I had to attack your home now. Because Transcendeds and humans can’t coexist. And that is what was happening here. We are too different. Granted, I eventually would have destroyed your home anyway. So there’s that.”

  “And what if I don’t?” Eli asked from the floor, recovering from the effects of the Prime Minister pumping nuclear radiation into his body. “What if I kill you and I don’t want to lead the Regime?”

  The Prime Minster turned and looked at Eli. “When the Outbreak virus came, we evolved. And it should be the survival of the fittest with the strongest on top; this is evolution. This is natural. That’s the premise that the Regime was created off of. That’s how it must be Captain Proof. If you are the strongest, and you want to change tradition, then maybe you shouldn’t be the strongest anymore.” The Prime Minister and his assistant then stepped through the portal and disappeared.

  Taia ran over to Eli on the floor.

  “Are you crazy?” she asked. “Why would you attack him?”

  “You make me do the dumbest things,” Eli replied with a weak smile.

  “What did he mean?” Connor asked. “What did he mean you’re the next Prime Minister? You told me that you’re against the Regime.” />
  Taia and Eli shared a look. “He’s insane,” Eli said. “That’s clear because he thinks leaving us alive was a good idea. He doesn’t think we’re a threat.”

  But Taia was confused too. She understood that Eli was probably the strongest Transcended in the world; she believed that herself. But what she didn’t understand was what the Prime Minister meant that maybe Eli shouldn’t be the strongest anymore.

  “We?” Connor asked. “You all really are going to try to help us?”

  Taia looked at Eli. She then looked at Blake and his team. They were probably the oddest group of people that she had ever seen. But it was clear that they were ready to fight for what they believed in. Eli nodded.

  “Alright,” Connor said. “Let’s do it. Cadet Bonner. Code: Omega. West Wall.”

  Jesse nodded and ran out of the room. Code Omega was a full call to arms by the Sector. It meant to activate every piece of arms and weaponry that the Sector had and to prepare for battle. Code: Omega had not been called in decades and it meant that the Sector was preparing for all-out war.

  “I don’t trust you,” Connor said to Eli. “But if you say you’re going to help us, then by God do whatever you need to do.”

  Connor then left the building with his guard leaving Taia and the Transcendeds to remain.

  “So what’s the plan Eli?” Blake asked.

  “Why are you asking me?” Eli said incredulously. “This is your team.”

  Blake laughed. “I put the team together Eli. It doesn’t make it my team. It’s yours. It was always meant to be.”

  “But why mine?”

  “Because you’re the only one with an ounce of military and leadership experience in regards to leading a team,” Melissa said monotonously, referencing his time with the Core.

  “Taia has experience leading,” Eli said.

  “She’s not one of us,” Fielding said. “You’re the leader. You’re the guy the walking nuclear warhead said was strong. The world is going to end pretty soon, but I’d like to keep these people from dying before that happens. And the best way to happen is with you hermano. Now what’s the plan?”