We Could Be Heroes 2

by Harmon Cooper

“The tech,” Helena said as she moved to one of the manicured shrubs that lined the entrance to her home. She crouched, sliding a rock to the side and returning with the key. “Always good to have backup.”

  “Let’s just get you inside,” Ozella said, coming to her, “and I will have Dinah try to heal you up again before the doctors come.”

  “We will need to think of other ways of addressing this as well,” said Juniper as they reached Helena’s front door. “I will go through a few of my family’s contacts. There are a handful of famous rune users who have taken up residence in Centralia. If that doesn’t work, we could also go to the Northern Alliance.”

  “But I thought the South and the North were at war,” said Sam.

  “We are, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have runic capabilities that may surpass ours,” said Juniper, a bag flung over her shoulder that she had packed in a hurry.

  “There,” Helena whispered as they heard a clicking sound.

  “Unlike the people from my country, at least most of them, I don’t think we should be at war with the North,” Juniper said as they entered Helena’s mansion. “We both utilize a similar magic, and if we actually worked to combine our powers, we would likely be able to change the world.”

  “Fat chance,” said Zoe as she stepped inside. “Not trying to burst your bubble here, Juney, but you don’t wash thousands of years of bad blood away with white paint. That’s something my grandmother used to say.”

  “Different generation,” Juniper reminded her.

  “Let’s just get you somewhere comfortable,” Sam said, his hand on Helena’s waist.

  Sam was watching as Ozella walk down the hallway when a blast of energy cut her down, the statkeeper smacking into the wall, instantly passed out.

  “Ozella!” Zoe cried, launching into action.

  The tiger girl tore past Helena and Sam, Juniper stepping in front of the two of them and tracing something in the air. Sam saw a flash as a protective shield formed.

  “You… You!” Zoe screamed once she got to the living room.

  “I have to help her!” Sam said, removing his hand from Helena’s waist.

  His back to the wall, he began moving toward the living room, his finger inches away from triggering his energy weapon.

  He rounded the corner to the living room to see…

  “Dr. Hamza?” he asked. The man in his white lab coat stood there triumphantly, aiming his weapon at Zoe, the tiger girl sizing him up, ready to pounce.

  “Sam, I’m so glad you could join us,” Dr. Hamza said, his beady eyes still focused on Zoe, the wrist guard on his arm tracing her every move. “Call off the tiger one, and let’s have a conversation.”

  “Or, I just blast you down from here,” Sam said, lifting his arm. “We could go that route as well.”

  “Why would you do a thing like that? I come here bearing good news, something that the four of you…”

  “Five,” Juniper said, stepping around Sam, her finger up in the air.

  “No runes, child,” said Dr. Hamza, still focused on Zoe. “I’m sorry to blast the other one—Ozella, I believe—but she will be able to heal up. And I needed to be able to speak to you four before I was attacked by her imaginary friend.”

  “You broke into my house,” Helena said, coming around Juniper. Helena glanced around for a weapon and settled on a vase set on a side table. She picked it up, glaring at Dr. Hamza, letting him know that she meant business.

  “Is something the matter?” he asked, tilting his head at the famous heiress.

  “You have thirty seconds to speak before we kill you,” Zoe said, the claws on her arms growing even larger.

  “In due time,” he told her. “But what’s wrong with you, did something happen?” Hamza asked, still staring at Helena.

  “It doesn’t concern you,” she said, gritting her teeth.

  “But I believe it does. You see…”

  The mad scientist lowered his weapon, and then lifted both hands in the air to show that he was surrendering.

  Zoe wasn’t buying any of it.

  She looked back to Sam and then returned her focus to Dr. Hamza, ready to kill on command.

  “Ms. Knight, I believe that you, of all people in this room, will be most interested in what I have to say.”

  “Say it quickly,” Zoe said, baring her teeth.

  “Yes, yes, you are fierce, I get that, but let the adults talk for a moment, will you?”

  “What do you have to say?” Helena asked as she came forward.

  “I’m here to ask for your help.”

  “I’m going to shoot him,” Sam said, which, he realized after the words came out of his mouth, was totally something that Zoe would likely say.

  “Don’t shoot me yet. At least hear me out. You owe me that much.”

  “We owe you?” Zoe asked.

  “You wouldn’t have your amazing powers without me, and don’t forget that,” Hamza reminded her.

  “I believe it’s time we conjure a zone of truth,” Juniper said as she wagged her finger.

  “There’s no need to do that when I’m here to offer you the truth, and nothing but the truth,” Hamza told her. “But fine, cast it.”

  Juniper lowered her hand, glittering light settling on the ground. “Done.”

  “Ask me your questions then,” Dr. Hamza said, smirking at the four of them.

  “Why did you come here?” Helena asked.

  “I came here to make a deal with you. And seeing your condition…”

  “You don’t know anything about my condition.” Helena set the vase down and came forward, grabbing the front of Dr. Hamza’s shirt and pulling him to her. “You know nothing.”

  “So aggressive, and for an educated businesswoman…”

  “What do you want?” Helena practically screamed in his face, Sam behind her now with his hand on her shoulder.

  “I need your help rescuing Mia.”

  “Mia?” Zoe asked. “You mean the bitch you enslaved?”

  “Well, that’s one way to put it,” said Dr. Hamza, Helena’s hand still gripping the front of his shirt. “But Mia has been turned into a vampire, which I am assuming you all have already dealt with by this point. And I just so happened to have a serum…”

  “A serum that does what?” Helena asked, suddenly growing hyper-aware of every word Dr. Hamza was saying.

  “Put me down and I will explain everything.”

  “Fine,” Helena said, pushing him away, returning to Sam.

  “You see, I have a number of serums, as you have already discovered,” he said, a crazed look in his eye. “But I also have a new one, a couple of new ones, actually, but let’s just focus on this one for now. It could help you with your little… problem.”

  “It cures vampirism?” Helena asked, her hand naturally coming to her scarf.

  “Yes,” Dr. Hamza said, grinning at her. “I would be willing to offer the serum to you if you helped me get Mia.”

  “We can’t trust him,” Zoe said. “Helena, we cannot trust him.”

  “Oh, you will trust me,” said Dr. Hamza. “And since you have cast a zone of truth around me, I guess I should tell you the other part of all this, which was what was originally going to be my bargaining chip here. Not only will you help me rescue Mia in exchange for a cure for yourself, but seeing as how the Knight Corporation is one of the largest corporations in Centralia, and you haven’t gotten into pharmaceuticals yet, you will get into pharmaceuticals, because I have some things that need to be distributed.”

  “You are joking,” Helena said. “I would never do business with you.”

  Dr. Hamza showed her the palms of his hands again. “Fine, I get it. We have bad blood, and there’s no overlooking that. But I do have a partner who you have no blood with. And I believe the serums I’ve created, medicines if you will, may be something that your company would be interested in profiting from.”

  “We can’t trust him,” Sam said, coming forward. “He will
betray us.”

  “I know that we have had our issues in the past, but if we can come to some sort of mutual agreement, I believe you will see that I have plenty to offer not only you, but your group, and the rest of Centralia.”

  “This is such bullshit,” Zoe growled.

  “But it will need to be legitimate, otherwise I will keep having to make serums out of my home. With your network of influence and… financing… I would be able to get the chemicals I need legally and professionally,” he told Helena. “And I’m not just talking about a cure for vampirism here. I’m talking about something else.”

  “I don’t know, Helena…” Juniper finally said.

  “I say we kill him now,” Zoe added.

  “Would you like evidence?” Dr. Hamza asked, ignoring Zoe. “Step back, and allow me to show you something.”

  Helena did as instructed, exchanging glances with Sam in the process.

  “Watch,” Dr. Hamza said as he rolled up the sleeve of his lab coat.

  He took a knife from his front pocket, and brought the blade against his arm, cutting a trail of blood from his wrist all the way to his elbow.

  He was breathing heavily now, clearly experiencing pain as he stashed the knife and took a vial from the same pocket. “I give you, Exhibit A,” he said as he popped the cap off and drank from the vial.

  And just as quickly as the cut appeared, it began to fade away, leaving only the blood that had dripped from the wound. He wiped the blood away, showing them that the cut had vanished.

  “You see? Completely healed!”

  Zoe gasped. “You came up with a serum for healing?”

  “I did, and there’s plenty more where this came from. But I need distribution, a place to work, and I want to do right by Mia. So, your group helps me rescue Mia in exchange for a cure for the bite that you have received,” he told Helena, “as well as your company’s vast resources to help me begin distributing my medicines. It’s almost as if I’m throwing in a bonus there, and don’t you forget that. I wasn’t originally going to offer you the vampirism cure….”

  “I…” Helena looked to Sam, and then to Zoe, both of whom were shaking their heads.

  “What do you say?” Dr. Hamza asked, something flickering behind his eyes. “Do you trust me?”

  “It’s a deal,” Helena said, no longer able to make eye contact with him.

  “I’m glad to see we could come to some sort of agreement.” Dr. Hamza smiled at them smugly for a moment. “Well, I’d better get going. Ozella will be up soon, and she’s not going to be happy that I shot her. Go ahead and relay the message to her, and I will see the five of you tomorrow morning. And keep an eye on her,” he told Sam and Zoe, nodding to Helena. “If anything starts to happen, you know where to find me.”

  The end.

  (Book Three will be out in the fall/winter of 2019!)

  Back of the Book Content

  Reader,

  This series lives on your reviews, so please take a moment to review We Could Be Heroes book one and two. I envision this as a three book series, and your reviews are social proof that it is a good read!

  https://geni.us/WeCouldBeHeroes

  https://geni.us/WeCouldBeHeroes2

  Your review is social proof that you enjoyed my work, and I can’t thank you enough for reading it and taking the time to review it. It really helps independent authors like me grow our craft and reach more readers, it also helps me to know that people are digging this style of prose and that I should continue writing it.

  Other Centralian books:

  We Could Be Heroes is related to my other series House of Dolls and Child of Chaos, which will be out in the summer of 2019.

  Here are other ways you can support my writing, hear about the latest updates:

  1) Join the Proxima Galaxy on Facebook where I look for ARC (advanced Review Copy) readers and give away audiobooks

  2) Review the books, which generates more interest from other readers, which makes me write faster because (carrot dangling from the stick!) – I want to please you all!

  3) You can support me on Patreon where you will get a ton of exclusive updates.

  So thanks, yet again, for reading, reviewing, enjoying We Could Be Heroes 2. I have some surprises for the third installment.

  Also check out the Harem Lit page for more adult-themed novels! Another good one is the LitRPG books page.

  Thanks for the support and your reviews.

  Yours in sanity,

  Harmon Cooper

  Email: writer.harmoncooper@gmail.com

  Join my newsletter to find out about my latest releases: https://geni.us/HCReaders

  Other Books by Harmon Cooper

  I have written over thirty books. Here are some of the highlights!

  Hate your job, win the lottery, get a superpower.

  Don’t miss the best-selling House of Dolls series, which shares a world and characters with We Could Be Heroes.

  https://geni.us/HouseofDolls

  A SuperHarem Adventure about a sci-fi writer and the superpowered women who are trying to kill him. Fun content, adult read! This one has more of the campy fun you’ve now read in We Could Be Heroes.

  https://geni.us/CherryBlossomGirls1

  A fantasy harem adventure inspired by Pokemon Go!, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and the Persona family of video games.

  https://geni.us/MonsterHuntNYC

  What if Ready Player One was a multi-part epic? Gritty LitRPG action, gamer humor, fantastic fantasy worlds, and a killer MC. An epic story told over eight books. This is the series that put Harmon Cooper books on the map.

  https://geni.us/TheLoop

  If you love dark fantasy, RPGs, Witcher, Punisher, or Mad Max, you'll love this powerful gamer trilogy about a man and his wolf companion.

  https://geni.us/LastWarrior

  Tokyo, Japan meets online fantasy gaming and South Park-styled humor. Yakuza, goblins, action, intrigue - add this book to your inventory list!

  https://geni.us/FICK

  Get connected with other LitRPG/GameLit readers

  Yes, there is a place to catch up on Harmon Cooper books, meet other readers and see exclusive previews (as well as being the FIRST to know about a new release). Join the Proxima Galaxy today and be sure to join my favorite group, the LitRPG society:

  And the biggest group of them all!

  Don’t forget to review this book!

  Thanks again.