The Superhero's Return

by Lucas Flint

  My eyes widened. “Manufactured powerless gas? I didn’t know that it was even possible to make it.”

  “But we’re still not sure,” Vanish added quickly. “Official estimates from the Department of Superpowered and Extraterrestrial Beings are that there are about ten million gallons of powerless gas all over the globe, with the vast majority of it coming from the US and China, though there are sizable amounts found in Russia, Brazil, and Japan, too, and trace amounts in various other countries. So right now there’s plenty of gas for criminals to use without needing to make more, but—”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Brains interrupted her. “The point is that the world is changing. It always is, of course, but this time not in our favor. Therefore, powerless training is going to become more and more important as time goes on.”

  “Are you saying I will need to practice it if I am going to survive?” I said.

  “It will help you if you are sprayed with powerless gas again,” said Brains. “Nothing will guarantee you absolute protection or survival from anyone or anything, but every new skill you pick up increases your chances of survival against even the strongest opponents. Therefore, starting today, Vanish and I will start training you in powerless training.”

  “Starting today?” I repeated. “Like, right now?”

  “Not right now, no,” said Brains, shaking his head. “After lunch. It’s too early to begin right now. Besides, I don’t think Jerry, our local crime lab technician, would be very happy if we used his crime lab as a gym. We can use the Practice Arena for that. Until then, I suggest you go back to your room and get ready. Powerless training requires a different mindset than normal training, so it’s important to prepare yourself.”

  “What about Vault B?” I said. “Aren’t you going to ask me what I found there?”

  “Valerie can tell us,” said Brains. “Right, Valerie?”

  “Yes,” said Valerie in our earcoms. “I can fill you in on the discoveries that Bolt and I made, as well as detailed information on the Vault’s security systems and the type of equipment stored within. I am already compiling a report you will be able to read on your computer.”

  “Excellent,” said Brains. He looked at me. “They didn’t call your Dad ‘Genius’ for nothing, did they? If he can make an AI as smart as Valerie, I can’t imagine what else he could have created if he didn’t die.”

  Thinking about Freya and Vault B, I said, “Yeah, I wonder about that sometimes, too.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  A few hours later, I stood in the Practice Arena in the Braindome, my hands balled into fists, standing opposite Vanish. Vanish had done her long brown hair back in a neat ponytail to keep it from getting in her eyes during our practice session. She was currently doing her warm-up technique, stretching her arms and legs and twisting her head back and forth to get the kinks out of her neck.

  I was also warming up, but I kept looking around the Practice Arena, too. It was a large indoor training area, reserved exclusively for people who worked in the Braindome. There was something for everyone here, like weights for normal humans and specialized training equipment for superhumans. I myself trained here frequently, though I’ll admit to not visiting as often as I should over the last week or so. I was so strong that I found it easy to forget about my training because it wasn’t like I was going to become weaker if I stopped training.

  There was even a small seating area off to the side, out of the way of the rest of the Arena, for people to rest and watch. Brains sat on the stands, holding Joey, his and Vanish’s one-year-old son, in his arms. He was currently rocking Joey back and forth in an attempt to get him to go to sleep, but little Joey did not seem even remotely tired. He was staring all around at the Practice Arena with those big eyes of his as if fascinated by it. Then again, little kids always seemed fascinated by everything, perhaps because they were so young and didn’t have much experience. I was glad I wasn’t a little kid anymore, though, because being a kid sucked, even though my childhood was pretty good, all things considered.

  “Bolt?” said Vanish. She had stopped warming up and now stood with her hands on her hips, looking at me expectantly. “Done warming up yet?”

  Stretching my legs one last time, I stood up and said, “Yeah. I’m ready when you are.”

  “Good,” said Vanish, brushing back a thin strand of hair that got in her face. “We don’t have a lot of time today, so we’re going to try to make this session quick. We’ll do another one tomorrow, but for now, we’re going to focus on the basics of powerless training.”

  My eyes darted over to Brains, who was now feeding Joey milk in a bottle. “Why am I training with you? Not that I think you aren’t a good fighter or anything, but I figured I would be training with Brains.”

  Vanish smiled. “Honey has some experience in powerless training like me, that’s true, but I’m more experience at it than I am. I’m actually considered something of an authority on the subject because before becoming a superhero, I was a martial arts instructor at my own dojo.”

  My eyes returned to Vanish. “You were a martial arts instructor and you ran your own dojo? I would never have guessed. You don’t seem like the type.”

  Vanish shrugged. “It’s not something I like to bring up all the time. It was in the past. My main priorities nowadays are Ryan and Joey. Well, and protecting Showdown, too, of course, but my family is my main priority at the moment. But I still remember my martial artist days with a lot of fondness.”

  “Interesting,” I said. “I’m guessing that powerless training involves a lot of martial arts?”

  Vanish nodded. “Yes, but it would be a big mistake to boil it down to just martial arts. A lot of superhumans think that powerless training is just about learning basic self-defense techniques, which is why so many superhumans look down upon it, but I can tell you that there is a lot more to it than that. It’s a completely different style of combat that requires you to rethink your whole approach to fighting, especially if you are used to using your powers to win fights.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said. I raised my fists. “Are we going to start now? Because I’m ready when you are.”

  Vanish also took a fighting stance, spreading her legs to give her a strong foundation and raising her hands to her sides. “Yes, but before we start, we need to go over a couple of rules.”

  “Rules?” I said. “What kind of rules?”

  “For one, no powers,” Vanish said, wagging a finger at me. “That’s rule number one of powerless training. Both of us will not use our powers at all during this fight. And if you do, Brains will step in and stop you with his powers.”

  I glanced back at the stands. Brains was watching the fight now, while little Joey was happily sucking on a bottle of milk. Brains gave us a thumbs up briefly before lowering his hand back down. “And what are the other rules?”

  “That’s about it, really,” said Vanish. “Obviously, we’re not fighting to the death or anything like that, but you still shouldn’t hold back just you’re stronger than me. I want you to come at me with everything you’ve got, minus your powers, of course.”

  I nodded. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get this party started!”

  I rushed toward Vanish. I must have taken her by surprise because she didn’t even move as I crossed the gap between us in a few quick strides. I almost activated my super speed, but caught myself at the last minute and threw a punch at her face.

  But then Vanish ducked, causing my fist to miss, and then something small rolled down her arm and into her hand. With a snap of her wrist, a long, metal pole appeared in Vanish’s hands and she slammed me in the gut with it as hard as she could.

  I cried out in pain and fell down, clutching my stomach, wincing at how much it hurt. Granted, it wasn’t the worst pain I’d ever felt in my life, but it was very sudden and abrupt and took me by surprise.

  “What are you doing?” said Vanish, looking down at me. She twirled her metal stick and rested it on h
er shoulder. “Get up. The fight isn’t over yet.”

  Breathing hard, I slowly rose to my feet, keeping a careful eye on Vanish’s pole. “I didn’t know we were allowed to use weapons.”

  Vanish smiled again, though this time she seemed slightly mocking. “I forgot to mention that powerless training will also cover weaponry. What kind of weapons have you used before?”

  Rubbing my stomach where Vanish had hit me, I said, “Um … nothing. Oh, wait, I did use one of those bomb staffs the government gave me during the second Pokacu invasion a while back.”

  “Just once?” said Vanish.

  “Er, yeah,” I said. “Is that a problem?”

  Vanish shook her head. “No, not really. It just means that’s yet another thing I’ll have to teach you how to use. If you ever find yourself powerless, martial arts often won’t be enough to defend yourself. You’ll need weapons, especially if you face someone like the Neo-Killer, who is well-known for shooting superhumans with his guns after de-powering them.”

  “So I’m going to get to learn how to shoot guns?” I said eagerly.

  “Later,” said Vanish. “Right now, I want to focus on martial arts. Then we’ll move onto poles and knives, and then guns.”

  “Why can’t we do guns first?” I said. “Guns are cool.”

  “They’re also exceptionally dangerous,” Vanish pointed out. “Especially if you haven’t used them before. Trust me, I’ve seen my share of shooting accidents and they’re never pretty.”

  My shoulders slumped. “Okay, fine. Don’t be surprised if I get to guns quickly, though. I’m a fast learner.”

  “I hope you are,” said Vanish. She then stepped back and held her pole like a spear. “Okay, let’s try that again. This time, try to avoid getting hit by me, okay?”

  I nodded and we resumed our powerless training. It went on for a couple of hours, and by the end of it, I was tired and sweaty. Though I did my best to keep up with her, Vanish was surprisingly nimble on her feet, dodging and twirling out of the way of my attacks and striking back with her pole every time I left an opening. More than once, I was tempted to use one of my powers to make things easier, but I always caught myself. I had to remind myself not to punch Vanish with my super strength, because if I did, Brains would murder me before the Neo-Killer could.

  So I focused on normal punches and kicks. I thought I did pretty well, but my attacks weren’t nearly as effective without my powers. A few times I managed to get a blow or two in, but they usually amounted to soft grazes which rarely bothered Vanish.

  By the end of our session, I was panting and sweating with my hands on my knees, while Vanish stood opposite me looking no worse the wear for our session. She twirled her pole again and said, “You look tired, Bolt. I didn’t hurt you too badly, did I?”

  Panting for breath, I looked up at Vanish and said, “Yeah, you did. What’s that pole made out of, anyway?”

  “Indestructonium,” said Vanish, twirling her pole once more. “It was very expensive to make but well worth the expense. It’s saved my life more than once and I carry it with me everywhere I go.”

  “Huh,” I said, wiping my sweaty hair off my forehead. “I need to get me one of those. When will I get a weapon of my own, anyway? Sure would be useful to have if I end up powerless again.”

  Vanish suddenly pulled something out from her pockets and threw it at me. I caught the small object and, looking down, saw that it was a folded up pole very similar to the one Vanish carried.

  “Here,” said Vanish. “That’s a practice pole you can use while we train. Sorry I didn’t give it to you sooner. It just slipped my mind.”

  Frowning, I wondered if it really did slip her mind or if that was just her excuse. For all I knew, this entire training exercise might have been how Brains and Vanish chose to punish me for being so disobedient. It would certainly explain why Brains had been watching the fight with interest. Even little Joey had been paying attention during the fight, though not as much as his dad.

  Shaking my head, I snapped my wrist back like Vanish did and the pole extended to its full length. It felt lightweight in my hands, making me say, “Is this also made of Indestructonium, like yours?”

  “No,” said Vanish. “Training poles are just made out of ordinary metal. Mine is for self-defense and training, so I had it made out of Indestructonium so it would last in a prolonged fight against criminals and supervillains. Still, don’t be fooled. Those poles can hurt regardless of what material they’re made out of.”

  I raised my pole and held it before me like a sword. “All right. Let’s start again. I want to learn how to use this so I’m not forced to swing it around like a caveman.”

  Vanish nodded. “If you feel up to it after the beating I gave you, sure.”

  We took up battle stances again, but before either of us could do anything, Brains suddenly shouted, “Hey, honey! I just got a call from the police. A supervillain has just been spotted in north Showdown blowing up cars and attacking civilians. We need to leave now.”

  Vanish paused and looked over at Brains. “What? Did they say who it is?”

  “Not sure,” said Brains. He was looking down at his phone like he was reading a report. “Police haven’t been able to identify him, but he’s pretty clearly a bad guy. We need to head out as soon as possible.”

  “Okay, honey,” said Vanish. She stood up straight and pushed her pole back to its original size. “Sorry about this, Bolt, but we’re going to have to cut this session short. Maybe we can resume tomorrow. How does that sound?”

  Standing up straight as well, I said, “That’s fine. After the beating you gave me, I think I could use a nap, though that will have to wait until after we take down this supervillain.”

  “Actually, Bolt, you have to stay here,” said Brains. He was approaching us from the stands, carrying little Joey in his arms, who was sound asleep now. “Remember? The Neo-Killer is after you. We have to make sure he can’t get you.”

  “Oh,” I said. “I forgot about that.”

  “It’s not all bad,” said Vanish. She gestured at my pole. “You can stay here and train if you want. Try hitting the sandbag. It makes good target practice and should help you get used to your pole.”

  I glanced at the sandbag hanging on the other side of the Arena, near the gym area, and sighed. “Sure. Not like I have anything better to do, anyway.”

  “Right,” said Brains, who did not seem to notice how disappointed I was. “Well, Vanish, let’s put Joey back in his room and then head out. The situation sounded serious and we need to get there right away.”

  Vanish nodded and grabbed Brains’ hand. In the next instant, the three of them were gone, leaving me standing all alone in the Practice Arena, my body sore all over from the repeated blows it had taken from Vanish’s pole.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  I spent the next ten minutes or so banging my practice pole against the Arena’s sandbag, but I had to quit pretty quickly, mostly because I was so sore from my fight with Vanish that I couldn’t swing the pole very hard without hurting myself. I also quit because I couldn’t stop thinking about Brains and Vanish’s mission. I wanted to come along with them to stop this new supervillain—whoever he was—but we had already agreed that I needed to stay in the Braindome until the Neo-Killer was arrested, which meant I couldn’t even go on missions to stop supervillains like what Brains and Vanish were currently doing.

  After I finished beating the pulp out of the sandbag, I tossed my practice pole aside and went back to my room. I really did need to take a nap in order to sleep off my body’s soreness. As a superhero, it was pretty normal for me to experience pain after a fight, but this soreness was new. Guess I would have to get used to it, especially if I was going to continue my powerless training with Vanish. Besides, I got up pretty early this morning anyway. I was going to need a nap no matter what, so might as well catch one now while I have the time.

  Opening the door to my room, I heard someone shout, “Bol
t!” and then Blizzard ran into me and practically jumped on me. She hugged me as tightly as she could and, though I was a lot stronger than her, I could barely breathe due to how tight she hugged me.

  “I’m so glad to see you again,” said Blizzard, hugging me as tightly as she could. “When I heard about the Neo-Killer targeting you, I came as fast as I could.”

  “Blizz?” I said in a tight voice. “I’m happy to see you again, too, but could you please let go of me? I can barely breathe.”

  Blizzard let go of me and stepped back. I had forgotten just how beautiful she was in person. She was slightly shorter than me by about an inch or so, with tanned skin and snow-white hair that curtained her blue eyes. She wore her white hood and cape, which seemed like an oddly warm getup to wear in this heat, but then again, Blizzard’s body was constantly radiating coldness, so she often needed to wear warmer clothing than usual. “Sorry, Bolt. When you walked in, I was just so happy to see you that I didn’t even think. I just acted on instinct.”

  “No, it’s not a problem,” I said. I rubbed my abdomen and winced. “Most of the pain came from Vanish. She just finished beating the tar out of me in the Practice Arena. She’s not very strong, but dang does she hit hard.”

  “Why was Vanish beating you up?” asked Blizzard in horror. “I thought she was on our side.”

  “Better question is, what are you doing here?” I said, looking at Blizzard in confusion. “I thought you were back on Hero Island training with the other Young Neos. And how did you even get into my room in the first place? I locked the door when I left earlier.”

  “One of the Braindome workers let me in when I told him I’m your girlfriend,” Blizzard explained. “I told him I wanted to surprise you by waiting in your room. I got here about half an hour ago, so I haven’t been here very long.”