Dawn of the Superheroes
(Compiled from issues of NOVUS Mainstream: Season 1)
By Frank Perseo
Smashwords Edition

© Copyright Frank Perseo 2010


All rights reserved, including all rights to all fictional characters, locations, events and stories herein. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the author, with the exception of brief excerpts in reviews.


License Notes
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Table of Contents
Part One- The Dawn of Superheroes
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Part Two- Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3


Chapter 1

The story begins with Zack Power (the NOVUS Universe feature character, among the most important). His real name is Ryan Gates, but at the time of this story only four people know this. It also starts with an organization called the Global Intelligence Agency (GIA), a no-nation organization whose sole purpose is to retrieve and buy information from all other countries and use it to bring about their special interests- global unification. In Zack’s eyes this is politically correct for world domination. The GIA is sponsored and founded by Cyvan, the richest man alive. The GIA came to Ryan Gates in 2005 (when he was 13) and invited him to take part in an experiment that would give him superpowers.
He became a guinea pig for a project to start a task force of super-freaks called the Super Corp, for the GIA’s special interests. After signing the contract he learned their true intent. His Christian values opposed the idea but he saw it as a chance to bring about prophecy. His initial powers are flight and force field projection. He can “see with his mind” (from sub-atomic particles, to aerial recons, through solid objects, and even many of these at once), but he cannot see everything at once. Still he refers to this mind-sight as omni-vision. He has a laundry list of uncanny powers, and can move at mach 1 and lift about three tons above his head.
Although comic book super heroes inspired him, he took the codename Zack Powers (which seems less traditional). He decided not to wear traditional superhero garb and instead has a wardrobe of specially treated “normal clothes” and nicer clothes that work with his powers. At the time of this story he is completely unknown to the general public and even the American government.

*******
1930s
Wenig, one of the many village-nations that exist only in the NOVUS Universe
Breathing heavy, running through mud, breathing heavier, heart racing; he went from ruler of a nation, to being hunted like a dog. Ademar Aderito had allied with Adolph Hitler and the Nazis upon their appearing in power. He had kept his promises and now the Allies were hunting him for it. As he ran he felt something pierce his spine and burst out of his chest. Two more bullets went through him. Ademar could feel his flesh burning; he would remain in this state for eternity.

******
Present day
Cyvan’s helicopter flying over the Atlantic
“I wish you wouldn’t interject during my meetings,” said Cyvan, “especially those with the President of the United States”. He wore an armored suit under his tuxedo, which he believed necessary for protection. “Yes, sir,” replied Zack. Although he would much rather remain silent and glare, it didn’t seem like the Christian thing to do. “Our next destination is Wenig to meet with their ‘president,’” Cyvan continued. “His real name is Ademar Walmond. He believes he is the reincarnated Ademar Aderito, a great ruler of theirs during World War II. He proved this by revealing where Ademar’s secret treasure is and the code to access it. The people of Wenig accepted him as president. Their system is flawed and he also runs the parliament by intimidation. We have many reports of parliament’s members and their mysterious deaths. You will refer to him as Ademar Aderito, if needed. He hates his real name.”
“Do you really believe he was reincarnated?” Zack asked.
“No,” Cyvan said solemnly. “I don’t believe in souls or such. Nonetheless his revelation of the treasure is intriguing. But we are not going there to debate religion, we are there to form an alliance and not start any contradictions.”
“But souls do exist. There has to be a third element that makes up who you are. Your DNA and life experiences don’t completely define you. Just because you’re abused or your parents are drinkers doesn’t mean that you’ll turn out the same way.”
“Hmm…”
“Furthermore just because you can’t see and measure the spiritual doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
“Point taken.”
“Still, I think reincarnation has to do with demonic possession. A man is possessed by a demon and he dies, or a demon takes the ‘form’ of that man’s spirit, then that demon can possess another man, lie to him, and convince him he is reincarnated.”
“Interesting, but this will not be discussed with the President. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”

******
Wenig, Present day
Zack walked through Wenig, after he had lost Cyvan unintentionally. Wenig had no airport, so they had landed on a roof. Wenig was surprisingly a flourishing city, not like the medieval village Zack had expected. There were only a few of these village nations, which were largely ignored by the general public and even the United Nations. Such nations relied heavily on themselves and did not participate much in trade, but received intelligence on changes of the outside world by information from the GIA.
The first thing Zack noted was how crowded the city was. Many inhabitants were dirty and plagued with disease. Zack could literally see the germs and walked very cautiously and fearfully. He was tempted to fly above all of them, to avoid touching anyone. He could feel the warm breath of people on his neck. His germaphobia was really kicking in. Had it been any other city, he would have pulled into an alley and worked there, but they too were crowded. Above him he saw a tower. It was actually a radar or radio transmitter of some sort.
Then several men in ski masks could be seen in the crowd. The people backed up, squeezing themselves more together. Everything seemed so rehearsed. Zack stayed in the front of the crowd, closest to the men in masks. Everyone cleared a 100-foot radius from them. Zack could see they were carrying big automatic guns and one had a remote. The guns aimed towards him. As they shot, Zack put up a force field and the bullets bounced off. Zack’s eyes almost glowed as he used his lightweight telekinesis to kick up the sand, creating a dust storm. He then put a silhouette force field around himself. He moved forward, nervously and cautiously (although still nearing mach 1), mostly for fear of the people. He grabbed the guns and the remote, knocked out the skiers and flew away to find Cyvan.

******
The Palace of Wenig
The Palace was hidden in the desert rocks, much like the legends of Area 51. Inside it was a high tech facility, very clean and different from the outside world. Zack and Cyvan were finally reunited.
Inside the office Ademar unmasked the terrorist. Instead of passing judgment, as required by law, he looked at them with contempt. “Get up, get out of here, go to the nearest airport, and go somewhere where no one will ever find you again” he demanded, and they obeyed. “Sir, you’re 9 o’clock is here,” the PA system announced. 
“Send them in,” he said.
 The automatic doors opened and Cyvan stepped in with Zack. “Hello Ademar. This is my associate, Zack Powers,” Cyvan said, shaking his hand. Ademar kept a straight face, with no emotion.
“Sit down,” Ademar gestured to two chairs. “I will cut to the point. My nation is dealing with overpopulation, sickness, unsanitary conditions, and most important: poverty.”
“I believe if you can meet our requirements, I can pay for many of the solutions to your problems.”
“What are the requirements?”
“Small matters in which you will be very happy to comply to.” 
Ademar glared.
“We have policies that require you to answer to me for certain matters. We expect to see a national policy which will work for the betterment of mankind.”
In other words, you want to buy his nation out, Zack thought.
“What do you plan to do about our problems?”
“Money can do a great deal of things. With my money I can do anything. I will use it to clean this city. I can provide cures for the sick, and the ones who can’t be cured I will quarantine them for the rest of their days. This will probably solve the overpopulation. Plus, they will earn citizenship to many countries, which they can move to.”
“In other words, you want to merge us with the other nations you own.”
“And what nations would they be?”
“I am not sure, but I know they exist. How will our nation change in this merging?”
“You are a shrewd man. You’re people already speak English. My goal is to break down barriers that separate nations. You will move to a new currency. Any other national standard will have to transfer to our international standard.”
“It will take me about a week to pass the Act through our parliament”
“And I will have the money and programs ready to go.”
Cyvan got up and Zack followed him out the automatic doors. “So that’s how you buy out a nation,” Zack said.
 “That’s one way; I use that if they are desperate” Cyvan replied coolly “America is a little different, I lend them money for projects and in return I ask for favors and push a change of currencies.”
Cyvan showed his clearance card and they walked outside. They walked out onto a rocky ledge looking over a canyon and now would have to climb the rocks to get back to the city. Suddenly Zack’s eyes were called to the sky. His mind sight traveled out through the atmosphere, past the exosphere, into deep space. He soon saw a meteor hurtling towards Earth. It was relatively small but the impact it could have would be tremendous. He tuned his mind-sight to see the sub-atomic particles. He observed the electron field orbiting the meteor. The stream of electrons came from Earth looped partway around the meteor and came back to Earth. He followed the stream and discovered it started and stopped at the large tower in the City.
Zack snapped out of it. He had seen that tower before, before the terrorists appeared in the crowd. Cyvan realized what happened, and noticed the concern on his face. “What did you see?” he asked. 
“A meteor being drawn to Earth,” Zack replied. “It will land here soon.”

******
Back at the airport
Back in the helicopter, Zack did his homework. He browsed through every national database, looking for any report of the meteor. GIA’s Air & Space Department had not reported it themselves, and Cyvan almost doubted Zack’s word, but he had learned to trust the super human’s intuition. Zack finally found the info he was looking for, by hacking into the most guarded files of the Wenig database. It was evident they were hiding this.
“I’m gonna check out this tower,” Zack said.
“Wait, that’s a government building, you don’t have clearance,” Cyvan protested.
“I’ll just have to use stealth,” Zack said, he ran out of the helicopter dramatically, leaped, and BOOOM he flew away just under mach 1.

******
He appeared as a streak across the sky. It was a miracle he didn’t deafen the destitute population below, packed in like sardines. He could see the large tower, with his actual eyes, made out of metal beams, shaped like some kind of radar. Two fences surrounded it; the inner fence was electric, and the outer was simply to keep people from touching the inner fence. He slowly flipped to belly-up, and then pointed his feet towards the ground. He landed inside the inner fence, barely decreasing his speed, which led him to break his legs on impact. He kneeled on the floor in pain, as he noticed two guards coming after him. He assumed they had done something to anger Ademar, that he would exile them here.
The two guards fired at him. He put up a dome force field around himself to deflect the bullets. He then expanded the dome to push the guards away. They flew back… and hit the electric fence, creating a spark, and frying the guards. 
He inched closer to the tower. He could feel it now, static electricity. His hair was all on ends, the humming was loud, it was so thick you could cut it with a knife (and die). He could see the sub-atomic realm with his mind sight. The tower emitted particles that acted like those described in the graviton theory, but still with the same structure of electrons. The particles were pulling the meteor towards Earth at almost light speed.
He had to think quickly. In the center of the tower, there was a generator. He decided to use a power he had been practicing for a while. He learned he could translate his entire body into electrons, making himself a living stream of electrons. He got a running start, towards the tower, turned into electrons, and broke the field of the opposing charge. Once inside he hit the generator and overloaded its circuits.

*****
The Palace of Wenig
It looked like a barren canyon, with one loan helicopter. Suddenly a trap door popped open in the rock, and out came Ademar, who scurried for the helicopter. He didn’t make it. Zack came out of nowhere, grabbed the ruler by his shirt, and pushed him against the helicopter. Suddenly a guard had his gun drawn towards Zack. He fired, but Zack put up a force field nonchalantly, deflecting the bullets. The distraction allowed Ademar to push himself off the helicopter.
He pulled a gun, shot, and missed. He shot again and Zack dodged the bullet by matching its speed. The guard grabbed him and managed to get him in a full nelson. He quickly translated into electrons and then right back, but delivering a fatal shock to the guard. He turned to face Ademar to see that he had pulled a mask over his face. He realized the material in the mask and suit was non-conductive to both nuclear energy and electricity. “When Philip told me all about you, I didn’t want to believe him.”
He was referring to Philip Phoebus, billionaire philanthropist and weapons industrialist, a genius in many forms of science and a founding father of paranormal science (studying factors that would be in a science fiction movie). Philip was a white-collar criminal who had dealings with Zack and his friends and had studied Zack extensively. 
Suddenly a light ray came from nowhere. Zack wasn't fast enough to dodge it and it cut neatly through his shoulder. He fell down and nearly passed out, but struggled to remain conscious. Ademar sprayed him with a goo that retarded his movement and was non-conductive. “Millions of people will die, you’ll be responsible,” Zack said.
“When that rock lands it will destroy and recreate the environment as we know it. From the ashes will rise a minority, looking for a leader. I’ll build them a new civilization. I’ll be a hero!”
“You can’t escape, that meteor is headed here any second.”
Ademar’s voice changed to a demonic screech.
“Fool, I cannot be bound by flesh and blood. When the meteor hits I will find a new body to inhabit.”
“What is your name?” Zack demanded.
“Ademar”
“Your real name!”
“I cannot tell you.”
“Well, as we speak the meteor’s path is being redirected by the GIA’s Air & Space division.”
Ademar screamed in fury, and roared like a lion. Zack used his lightweight telekinesis to push Ademar against the helicopter with the wind. He held him at bay with the stream of wind, while breaking himself free. He inched towards Ademar, crawling on the ground, grabbed his leg, and picked him up by his leg thrusting his head into… well never mind. Point is, Ademar was dead.

*****
It was hard for GIA to keep the whole affair under wraps. Village-nations never make it onto international news, and GIA worked to make sure this event would not change that. Wenig was quietly acquired by Cyvan, who sponsored a renovation of the village. Much of the population moved, but many were tragically taken by growing terrorist attacks. 
Many rumors started from the ignorant masses on what happened to Ademar, but they were not even sure he had died.

*****
In some foreign part of the world, in a hut in the jungle somewhere, there sat a man meditating. He breathed in rare fumes, which were unidentifiable to even the most studied medical doctors. He was unsure of his purpose in life and so he asked the spirits. And they answered him. They told him his name was Ademar Aderito. They told him what had happened in his previous lives. They told him it was time to sell these leaves to a group called New Axis, to a man named Aleksandr. He arose and went forth.

*****
Hammonton, NJ
Tommy was a good friend of Ryan Gates, known only to us as Zack Powers. Tommy was in Class of ’10 at Hammonton High School. He goes way back with Ryan, to the time when they were kids. But lately they’ve drifted apart. They’ve both been “busy” and each too preoccupied to care about the other.
There was yelling inside his house. Tommy walked out the back door, frustrated. He went into the garage and opened a little box. It was his prized possession, a syringe and a formula whose existence was only known to a few in the world. Soon the formula was in his system, reacting with his fast-twitch fibers, enhancing them. He put on all black clothes, shoes, gloves, and a mask. Unlike most masks you see, this one covered his mouth and had a square opening at his eyes. He took off running into the night… at 50 miles per hour; into the darkness, not sure what for.



Chapter 2

Dedicated to the real life superheroes:
Costumed crime fighters and the many heroes in uniform,
Those who keep us safe, who stand for what they believe in.

This specific story begins with the Intelligence, although our real story spans an entire universe of characters and institutions. The Intelligence was started sometime after World War II. Mark Vincent used his vast and secret fortune to start a worldwide intelligence gathering organization called: the Global Intelligence Agency, or simply the Intelligence. Upon his death, his son Steven (later called Cyvan) took over the organization, and began to use its vast and unending resources to bring the world under one order. At the request of some of his directors, he started a project to create human weapons, superhumans. He called the project the Super Corp.
The prototype superhuman was called Zack Powers. His real name was Ryan Gates, a farm boy from Hammonton, New Jersey (of all places) who had acted for several years as acovert agent for the Intelligence. The experiment that gave him powers only worked on him because he was under 16 (13 at the time). He gained a laundry list of superpowers including flight, force field projection, and mind sight. After a year of working as the Intelligence’s muscle man, the Super Corp added a new member, Jessica Hilton (codename Janet). Jessica had been friends with Ryan, not knowing of his double life. The Intelligence invited her to be Zack’s female counterpart, supposedly spotting some good trait in her. She sported some of the same main powers as Zack, and some different ones.
Four years have gone since Zack first got his powers. The Super Corp has recently added a new member named Dexter. Dexter was an African-American, an orphan, a run-away, and a mystery child. Zack and Janet didn’t know much about where he came from, just that he had a hard knock life. According to the American government he didn’t exist, so the Intelligence took him in. He didn’t gain the same powers as Zack or Janet. Instead the Doc gave him the power to develop any power. His main powers are titanium skin, accelerated regenerative healing, and air bending. Dexter was enrolled in Hammonton School System and started trying to fit in. Our story begins here, as our heroes wait for their orders.

******
Place unknown
Cold. That was the initial thing Charles felt in the strange world. It looked like a scene from real life, but it felt empty. Even though he heard no sound, he could sense the echo in the place. It was literally empty except for some background, and everything seemed to be at a standstill. Like a photograph, motionless, but with the potential for motion. Then he saw something, an object that was not in the background. It seemed to be paused, like you would do to a movie. He walked by it up to a wall, almost as if he were drawn to the wall and could not control his motions. Then he walked through the wall! The very particles of the wall parted as he walked through. On the other side he saw a man with a gun, smoke coming out of the gun. Then he noticed a bullet, suspended in midair, but it was not “paused” like everything else. It was just moving slowly, towards the other man in the room. Charles moved his hand towards the bullet and felt a small amount of warmth. He tried to touch it, but then screamed in agony as it ripped through his hand.
Suddenly, he sat up. It was all a dream. He then realized the background from his dream was his apartment building. He looked at his watch. It was 10:00 in the morning! Late for work. He rushed out the door, neglecting daily routine. He had been known to sleep walk, but never to sleep in. He always kept perfect time in his head. As he stumbled out the door he saw that it was still dark outside. What gives!?

*****
Dark Alley in Atlantic City, NJ
The Special Forces unit looked down on the alley from the roof, some with decel-cables ready to go, others with guns pointed at the targets. A group of thugs waited in the alley, unaware of their doom above. It was certain that their operation would go up in smokes, there was no way out.
A black SUV pulled into the alley and stopped. The door opened, and the moment of truth began. He stood over 6 feet tall, exuding with signs of wealth and respect, and a handsome countenance. His smooth silky blonde hair was kept by the world’s greatest professionals. His name was Aleksandr. He almost seemed lost in the dirty scene, but if one could see the heart they would know he fit right in. He walked over, grabbed a suitcase from the lead-thug, and turned his back to walk back to his vehicle. How little he knew of the street-life, but he’d learn, as the thugs pulled out guns and one shot whizzed by his head.
Suddenly three baseball-sized metal spheres rolled into the alley, exploded, and dispersed thick smoke everywhere. A man ran into the smoke, dressed in black with a ski mask and goggles. One could hear the pain of the thugs in the smoke, as an unseen man maimed them. Aleksandr managed to escape to his SUV, and drove away. This prompted the masked man to leave the thugs and follow the SUV.
The thugs lay in the alley, maimed and in pain, but Aleksandr got away. Had they really won?

*****
Later
Zack finally arrived on the scene and immediately started observing and asking questions. “We had been tracking them for months,” explained the Captain of the GIA Special Forces Unit. “We knew they were getting they’re supplies from one Aleksandr Carethia.” Aleksandr was the ruler of a small, obscure country in the Far East. He was the sworn enemy of Cyvan and The Commander of the Super Corp.
“What happened?” Zack asked.
“In the middle of the transaction, a masked character broke up the operation. He escaped and chased the car. We don’t know if he ever caught up.”
“What do we have on the masked crusader?”
“Intelligence says his name is Smoke-Bomb. He’s a vigilante who works with the local police, part of a phenomenon of costumed crime fighters appearing all around the world. His M.O. is to use smoke bombs to blind his opponents. We suspect he has infrared vision in his goggles.”
“So, any idea where Mr. Carethia is?”
“He’s on his way back to Asia.”

*****
In the Super Corp Satellite, hovering more than 460 kilometers over the earth.
In the meeting room, Commander paced back and forth in his uniform. The sleeve on his right arm was cut short, as it was replaced by a cybernetic part: his cannon. Doc sat calmly on his chair, next to his chalkboard. Doc was the leading authority in paranormal science, a field of science that deals with phenomenon you would only expect to find in a sci-fi movie. Zack, Janet, and Dexter sat in their own chairs staring at each other.
“Aleksandr is searching for revenge,” said the Commander. When he had been only a Lieutenant, back in the 1940s, he stumbled across the Carethian realm. The dictating family took him in and treated him with hospitality. Then, the Lieutenant learned of their true colors; they opposed the forces of freedom. He destroyed their humble home and escaped into the jungle, where he learned the ways of the ninja. But he could not get the Carethian Family out of his life, as he found himself struggling with them year after year. In more recent times, young Aleksandr witnessed the death of his father at the hand of the Lieutenant. He swore revenge on the mysterious Lieutenant. Aleksandr was also a personal rival of Cyvan, leader of the Intelligence. Upon returning to society, Lieutenant was hired by the mysterious Cyvan.
“Aleksandr is the leader of a terrorist group called New Axis” Commander explained. “Only a handful of people in this world know of those names, and I wish to keep it that way.”
“Understood,” Zack replied.
“Recently, New Axis has come into possession of nuclear weapons, but has instead turned its attention to paranormal agents, such as superhumans.”

****
Hammonton, NJ (Tommy’s house)
Tommy sat in his bed. Everything was aching; he was burning for something more. Yet something in him wanted to stop. He couldn’t do this anymore. But how did it begin? It seemed that his whole family fell apart as his mother was hospitalized with cancer years ago. Although she fought it and came back home, she was constantly making frequent trips to the hospital for one reason or another, many times because the cancer came back. His father turned alcoholic, and his siblings were never home. His house became a mess, in only a matter of months, far from his ideal household he was used to. He would take anything else by now.
He found a stash of drugs from his dad, back in his college days. He joined a circle of friends to share his drugs with, and they shared with him secrets of eastern cult theology. This was until he came across a new drug, one that he was not willing to share. It could enhance his reflexes to an amazing level. It got him kicked out of his posse, but he was accepted in the basketball team. He began buying his supplies from a friend, who had them imported from some Far Eastern third world country. Hitting rock bottom, Tommy resolved to stealing for money. Of course, the cops never caught him. He had recently found some new friends who had a secret place to get high.
Despite the aching, he was able to get up and get to school, doing the mundane again. He never stopped to think of how things could be different.

*****
The High School
Ryan Gates walked down the halls of the Hammonton High School. It had been weeks since he had talked to his friend Tommy, who had been very busy with the basketball team. And when Tommy wasn’t busy, it always happened, that Ryan had to “go to work”. As he walked by the bathroom, his mind sight surged through the walls to reveal his greatest fear; Tommy smoking in the bathrooms.
It was hours before Ryan was able to see Tommy. He went out of his way to wait in the locker room until all had left. “I know what’s been going on,” Ryan stated.
“What would that be?” Tommy asked.
“I saw you smoking in the bathroom.” Ryan moved towards Tommy’s locker, opened it, and pulled out a black box. In the box was a syringe and several formulas. “What is this? Or rather, how did it happen?”
“They’re legal.” Tommy protested.
Ryan stared.
“One's euphoric, the other enhances your reflexes.”
Ryan kept staring, so Tommy told him about how it happened. He wasn’t sure why, but there was a reason in the grand scheme of things.
“It may be legal, but is it really helping you?” Ryan asked.
Then a new voice came in “Is there a problem in here?” He was definitely older than Ryan and Tommy. The question is, what was he doing there?
“No, Ben,” Tommy responded, but Ben obviously knew better.
“Are you bringing the stuff to the ceremony?” Ben asked.
“Yeah,” and Ben left.
“I guess he means this,” Ryan said holding the black box. “What for?”
“That guy is Benjamin Wade, amazing guy. He’s on the verge of a breakthrough to paranormal activity. He has talked with the Source, and it is telling him of a war to come. I’ve been chosen to help him and an elite group of warriors.”
Ryan wasn’t sure how to take it. It was crazy talk for sure, but he had seen many weird things as Zack Powers. “Is this how you define your worth? Hanging out with crazies? Trying to save the world? Are they your real friends?”
Tommy thought about it for a minute. “I just know this is what I gotta do.”

*****
Zack hovered somewhere in the troposphere, using his mind sight like telescopic vision to watch a thug on the ground. He wasn’t on duty for the Super Corp; he had something personal to gain from this. He had followed Tommy, to this thug who gave him supplies, and was now following the thug to the main source.
The thug walked into a warehouse Zack flew to the window. He observed some figures inside. He recognized one to be Aleksandr. He backed up for a grand entrance. Then Aleksandr disappeared. He read the lips of the thugs as they planned to smuggle more supplies in the country. Ironic since their goods were supposed to be legal, according to Tommy. He would need backup to take them down, but he couldn’t call in the Intelligence.

*****
Somewhere in Atlantic City
“HELP!” she screamed, as she was pulled into an alley by a man who easily overpowered her. He had a gun, so taking him on was out of the question. Then smoke came out of nowhere. A hand grabbed the gun. It was fired, but off where it couldn’t hurt anyone. The lady closed her eyes as the smoke dispersed; Smoke-Bomb placed a couple good kicks. Then an orb surrounded the thugs head, and he passed out quickly. The lady ran away.
Zack floated down from the sky. “Nice job, Mr. Ford. Or should I say Dr. Paul Ford”.
“How did you know who I am?”
“I can see things that others can’t. I can see straight through your mask.”
He reached for a smoke bomb, “You’re not taking me with you.”
“Don’t say that, you don’t know where I’m going.”
“Does the Intelligence know about me?”
“How do you know about the Intelligence?”
“One of the officers from the ACPD told me.”
“The Intelligence doesn’t know your identity, but they’ll find out. I’m here to ask for your help. I know how drug rings messed up your home. Your father was involved in one, he heavily addicted himself. When he tried to leave the ring, they burnt his house down. You were spared, but your parents died. I would assume you are out like this to assure that similar thugs don’t do the same again.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I found the ring that caused your father’s death.”

*****
Zack carried Smoke-Bomb and flew across the Atlantic, while debriefing him on the situation.
“They are going to smuggle the goods out on a cruise ship… with people on it. Had there not been people, I could incinerate it in the middle of the Atlantic.”
“I can tip off the officials, they can help.”
“I doubt it, but we’ll at least have to stop the cruiser.”
It wasn’t long before Zack was flying through the air, at a fair speed carrying Smoke-Bomb to meet the cruiser. “So, after you avenge your parents, are you gonna give the crime fighting gig up or what?”
“There are still plenty of drug rings in Atlantic City alone; I have sworn to take down all of them.”
“You realize crime is something you can never eradicate. If you want to take as much down as possible, fine, but it’s human nature. You’re fighting humanity itself.”
“I would suggest holding your tongue.”
“Is that a threat? I would like to see you try and fight me.”
Zack aimed for a small circular window. He threw the costumed crime fighter through, like a spear. He then followed after, caught his new friend and landed on the floor. There were boxes everywhere, filled with drugs. Zack found the generator, then turned his body into a stream of electrons, overloading the generator, and short-circuiting the power on the ship. He snuck his way up the stairs into a big ballroom. He translated into electrons again and shocked the curtains on the stage, starting a fire, as he intended. He then transformed back into his human body and escorted people out the doors to the lifeboats.
Back in the storage room, a guard came to check what happened. He didn’t notice Smoke-Bomb above him, who dropped down and knocked the guard out. Smoke-Bomb then ran for the stairs, making his way to the control room. Upon entering the control room he realized he had been expected. He saw a man standing there, the man his father used to work for. A machine gun was pointed at him, and then pointed straight up and fired. The gun-wielder struggled to get the gun pointed back at the masked freak, who ran towards him and delivered a strong punch. Five henchmen jumped him but were soon covered in smoke. Three were thrown right out of the cloud of smoke, against the walls. The others hit the ground with a thud. Suddenly there was a bang; fire came bursting into the control room. Then, darkness.

*****
Dr. Paul Ford woke up in the hospital, not knowing what had happened in the time elapsed. Before him stood Zack, who wasn’t very recognizable without his trademarked sunglasses on.
“The ship went up in smokes. No casualties. The ring leaders are in jail, Intelligence is working on pinpointing their donor. The doctors don’t know what happened to you, only that you were burnt badly. You’ll be healed in a matter of weeks.” Zack informed Paul.
“Good deal,” Paul mumbled.
“Now will you be giving the game up, in light of your injuries?”
“I have sworn to do everything in my power, to help as many people as I can.”
“Good deal,” Zack smiled, as he walked out the door to go back home.
Zack began the long walk home; he planned to fly the rest of the way as soon as he was out of sight. Then destiny called at an inopportune time. He could see a semi-transparent face in front of him. He heard a voice that was kind, gentle, and soothing. “Mr. Powers I need your help. There is a war coming. You will not live in secrecy forever. Prepare yourself for what is to come. God Bless.” And like that the face and voice were gone. Just another day in the crazy adventures of Zack Powers.

*****
Benjamin Wade’s porch
Tommy came running up to Ben’s porch, looking frantic and worried. Ben sat on a mat meditating. He sensed the presence of Tommy before hearing the grass, he expected him to come to tell him about this.
“They’re busted. The dealer where I get my stuff from, their ship went up in smokes. Someone tipped the cops, and they found the drugs. All the members have been arrested. How are we going to get the stuff?”
“I saw this would happen. Luckily we have everything we need for this endeavor. The moment of truth is coming. We will be ready to face it. Do you have the supplies I asked for?”
“Yes.”
“Good, then we shall begin to prepare for the events the world is not ready to face.”



Chapter 3

Paranormal Control Head Quarters
There were very few office cubicles, and even fewer people, in the trailer that acted as the Paranormal Control’s Head Quarters. John Saturn was practically alone in the trailer to do his job. Of course that is what one would expect as Director of Research and Communication, which were the two positions he filled. Paranormal Control was a top-secret agency, first to the American government then to the world, which dealt with “paranormal activity” (mostly activity which would be in a sci-fi movie). The agency split into an array of departments that varied in a spectrum ranging from the purely observational divisions to the proactive divisions. John’s department was somewhere in the middle of these extremes.
John was the technical support for his field agent co-workers, who went out to chase superhumans and sci-fi phenomenon, which they hid from the public. But John had a secret. It is quite ironic that he works for an agency that hunts down superhumans, when he is in fact one of them.
John was born with extraordinary telepathic abilities, which he kept hidden from his co-workers. Although he can’t particularly force his way into one’s mind, he can communicate with people mentally, if they will allow him. He can also see through one’s eyes and control their movements, of course only if they allow. He has limited technopathic control, and he can use his powers to find other superhumans. He can also hear people’s thoughts before they are said, potentially all over the world, but usually filters out most thoughts. It is uncertain how he has gone this long without being discovered.

*****
Paranormal Control Superhuman Asylum
John swiped his card to enter the testing cell. He walked up to a glass window, and through it he could see a man in his twenties with guns pointed at him. The guns all fired, but the bullets were stopped in midair. As they were suspended, their very atoms were vibrated so that the bullets melted in their place. John could sense some hostility; no doubt he would need his powers.
“That’s quite a gift you have,” John said as he entered the cold room with metallic walls. John could completely understand how this man would feel if he was in a prison. His name was Clark Blake. The Paranormal Control discovered him when he used his powers to help them in a disaster. The PC needed to cover up all their tracks, so they asked the mutant to come with them, promising him help with his powers. The Superhuman Asylum was home to many superhumans that the PC studied, tested, and trained. Still one could feel confined, but it wasn’t the confinement that ate at Clark, it was an interest in power.
“I can even transmute elements with my brain,” he said.
“Yes, under the circumstance of need.”
“But all it takes in an unexpected shot, and I’ll be dead. They tell me they can give me virtually indestructible skin.”
John shivered at the thought of a man with that much power also being invulnerable. What kind of monster was the PC creating? “You need help,” John thought.
Clark turned around with anger, “I DON’T WANT HELP!” He attempted to use his telekinesis to throw John at the wall, but John damped his powers.
“I will not allow you to use your powers like that.”
John had seen much with the Paranormal Control. He once knew a telekinetic who could alter subatomic particles, thus altering reality itself. The man died of a heart attack on a power hungry rampage. John knew that many were given amazing gifts, but he had seen people destroy themselves trying to overtake the Giver. That’s gratitude for you.

*****
A small town in West Virginia
“Don’t you think you should be resting right now?” Elijah asked his father, who was proclaimed terminally ill but had escaped the house and started down the sidewalk for his regular brisk walk. “I still have my legs, and I will not spend my last days wasted away in a bed,” his father answered. It was just like him, even after the doctor had ordered a bed rest, his father wished to be free.
The Grimm family had lived much of their life of this street. It bustled quietly as usual with a few people, none aware of what was about to happen. “So are you enjoying your new job?” Mr. Grimm asked. It wasn’t exactly a new job. Elijah had been working for the government on a special genetic project for more than a year. “We’ve come out with some interesting breakthroughs; we have learned different ways to augment human features in amazing ways.” He went on for some time to explain the details, but Mr. Grimm did not understand them, and neither do I.
“I’m proud of you, and I’m happy that you are doing something you enjoy. I wish that I could have done more though, after mom…” Mr. Grimm started.
“Please dad, you did your best,” Elijah protested. They began to turn around and walk back.
“I’m glad that you feel that way. When I was a kid I used to hate my dad’s house because there was always smoke in the air, always so thick. But I enjoyed my mom’s house because it always had clean air. When my mother died I spent an excess of time at the park. I always wanted to be away from my father, but eventually I succumbed to his habit. I want to make sure you don’t hate yourself like I always did. I am sorry for the smoking years I put you and your mother through.”
“It’s forgiven.”
“Thank you,” he said weakly “I hope that these last weeks we can grow closer.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Suddenly the air changed, literally. Elijah could feel the pressure changes on his head. He watched as his father gasped for air. “I’m sorry,” he gasped; then dropped dead along with a couple other people on the street, just randomly. Elijah was able to tell his father was dead due to his medical training. He fell to his knees and cried out in desperation.

*****
Local Morgue
David Grimm walked through the double doors and saw his brother, Elijah, sobbing on the bench next to another set of double doors. David walked up to his brother “What are they saying?” 
“He had the oxygen sucked out of him, but they’re not sure how.”
“He did have a smoking issue.”
“Well that’s the thing; it’s not related to him smoking.”
“Well, the others are in the hospital; they passed out from a temporary lack of oxygen. How did you survive this?”
“I DON’T KNOW! No one even knows what happened.”
“Sorry, we will figure this out.” David promised as he walked into the other room. Elijah felt stuffy in that room so he ventured outside. There was a stand selling cigarettes. It had been only a short time but he was able to resist the temptation. Suddenly he felt warm wind on his back. He got his keys out and started walking to his car. He threw his keys up to catch them but missed and they fell into a drain. At this point he honestly wanted to fly away. Suddenly, he felt air pressure enclose him, as his dreams took flight, literally. He didn’t think much about the fact that this couldn’t be happening. He controlled the air tightly with his mind, bending it around him and lifting him off the ground in a bubble.

*****
Even in his sleep, Andrew could feel the warmth and the sheets that surrounded him. Not only that, but he could sense the dry cold of the outside world. He could smell eggs and bacon cooking and the dead skunk down the road. He could hear his little sister tiptoe into his room and his parents whispering in the other room… every word.
He continued in his amazing dream about being a hero in the town. Suddenly he heard a trumpet at what seemed to be 160 decibels, blown straight in his ear. He suddenly woke up, his ear gone deaf. His sister jumped up and screamed what seemed to be “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” then attempted to punch him. He was on his toes and dodged it, but could still feel the breeze, and the impact.
“Ow!” he yelped, holding his arm.
“Wimp,” she teased and reached out to pinch him. It was as if a machine had clamped down on him and ripped his skin. At that time his mother came in. “Get out of your brother’s room. Don’t pick on him, you know how sensitive he gets.”
“Mom,” he protested, as his sister walked out.
“Happy Birthday.”
“Uh, thanks,” he said.
“You want eggs?” She asked. He nodded. “And remember you have a doctors appointment later this afternoon.”
Andrew ventured down the stairs and noticed that his dad hadn’t started the eggs yet. He looked next door into his neighbors’ kitchen and noticed they had eggs for breakfast.

*****
At the local skating rink
Andrew stood there nervously with all his friends from school around him. They weren’t actually his friends, but he knew them. He had been invited to Claire, the popular girl’s birthday party. He had been friends with her a long time ago but the public school system had a way of separating old friends with its cliques. Their birthdays happened to fall on the same day. The room was dark, with only party lights, but Andrew could see people moving even in pitch-black areas. He began to walk forward, looking at the ground, but stopped abruptly as he noticed a bug he almost stepped on… a black bug. After passing the bug he kept his head down but bumped into someone. He looked up, and wished he were back in bed. He had bumped into the Rock, and in case you couldn’t figure it out he was kind of the school bully. State champion wrestler, he also enjoyed boxing … mostly with defenseless little wimps such as Andrew.
“You!” he exclaimed, and everyone turned their heads. The Rock aimed for Andrew’s head with his infamous right hook. Andrew was able to dodge it with what I like to call luck. But it soon ran out as The Rock came in with a weak left hook, which landed on Andrew’s arm. Andrew felt a snap, he screamed, and fell over. “He’s faking it,” someone yelled as Andrew blacked out from the pain.

*****
Local Doctor’s office
Andrew sat on the examination table in the doctor’s office with nothing but embarrassment. “It seems his … illness is getting worse,” the doctor stated. 
“What exactly is his illness?” his mother asked. 
“It’s not an illness per se but it’s an abnormality, a change due to natural selection. I have been watching it all his life, but apparently it was activated after he hit puberty. It allows him to use his five senses at a superhuman level. It’s quite incredible.”
“So you’re saying I’m a helpless wimp,” Andrew interjected. His mother glared at him.
“No, wimpy-ness is a trait that can be overcome. You have an amazing gift. I have a friend who studies such cases. He’s a nice guy. Maybe he can even help toughen you up.”
“You mean like making him a lab rat?” his mother asked.
“No, not like that. No heartless barbaric testing or such. They may ask you to remain in their facilities.”
“What for?” Andrew asked.
“Training mostly, they have a nice place up there. They can help you use your powers. It’s only a couple hours from here. Your family can come to visit.”
“Yes, but why does he have to stay, and for how long?”
“He doesn’t have to stay overnight, but there is that option. He also gets a good education, and there are other benefits… like protection from those who may want to hurt people like your son.”
“Well, I lost all my respect here,” Andrew said. “When can I leave?”

*****
In a book full of superheroes, allow me to introduce Charles (whose last name will remain unrevealed for his safety), who also appeared back in chapter two. Charles is at a point in life where his life is changing. Like the superheroes of this book, Charles leads a double life, but not one that you would expect. Most people know him as a director of a government project and a prodigy in quantum physics. But at night Charles escapes to a lab in the Nevada desert where his life work is. Charles studies the concept of time, hoping to bend time and find ways to transport to the future. He hopes to find a loop in the time-space continuum.
He had been driving many miles though the desert when he finally arrived at his lab to find it in smokes. One of his few colleagues ran out frantic, and began explaining (in far too technical detail) how one of their experiments had gone wrong. Charles had hoped that unraveling the atom could help them bend space and time. Luckily, the only damage was a relatively small fire, and not a nuclear explosion.
Charles walked back to his car; he simply wished things would slow down. He searched for his anti-radium pills. Suddenly he noticed the pendulum that hung from his ceiling. He always had instruments around to help him measure time; they were an inspiration to him. Charles noticed that the pendulum was suspended to one side. Suddenly it changed its beat to two-fold, its regular speed. Now most people would have caught on by now, but you must understand that Charles was a careful skeptical scientist. He had also been disappointed many times by what he thought was a breakthrough, but was only his delusions. He used mental commands to change the speed of the pendulum.
Charles ran into his trunk and pulled out a stick of dynamite with a long rope (which he used for experiments). He grabbed the end of the rope and threw the dynamite to his colleague who caught it, and placed it down. Charles pulled a lighter a lit the rope and his colleague began running. He met the flame at the middle of the rope and kept running. The flame reached the dynamite and it blew. By that time the colleague was a couple feet from Charles. Suddenly the whole scene rewound, and the dynamite was back in Charle’s hand. This time Charles told his colleague to run before lighting the rope. When his colleague was half way there he lit the rope. His colleague finally arrived at his side, and Charles used his newfound powers to reverse and replay the explosion, bending time only in relation to the dynamite and rope. Charles and his colleague stayed stationary, observing the rewinds and replays.
“Spectacular,” he exclaimed. “How did you do that?”
“I don’t know,” Charles replies, “but I can do it mentally. I’ve been having dreams about this.”
“Amazing! We’ll have to call Time Magazine, the Scientific Journal, and all the other papers. It’s quite amazing, do you think it is a side effect of the nuclear experiments…” his colleague continued to talk completely unaware of the fact that he was fading out of existence. His body disappeared from his legs up, then he vanished from Charles’ memory.
Charles got into his car and started the engine. He began the long journey to the city for his day job; quite disappointed that no one had been there to see him use his powers. Suddenly there was a series of bangs and pops in his engines. Steam rose from under the hood. He pulled the car off to the side.
After putting up the hood, he knew that he wouldn’t make it to work in time. Suddenly he felt something instinctive; a compulsive desire to use his powers in a way he wasn’t sure was possible. He could bend relative time in the universe around him, slowing it down, while speeding his relative time up. Suddenly the cold desert night got colder. He began to walk down the long desert road. In his subconscious mind he plotted a way to move fast without the feeling of taking forever or exerting any muscle effort. His very atoms unraveled into a stream of electrons, protons, neutrons, and other subatomic particles traveling at sub-light speeds. His body reconstructed when he reached the city; he had lost a lot of mass. Suddenly he became stuck in a time warp, in which a second in the outside world would be 50 years to him.

*****
Government Office Building
Charles walked into his office building, which he hadn’t seen in years, and his co-workers definitely noticed something different about him. In fact he was hard to recognize. Most of you think you know what was different, but you are probably wrong. He didn’t walk in looking like an old geezer; he walked in looking quite buff and very young. He was determined, like a man with destiny. Even after years in hyper-time he discovered that he hadn’t aged one bit, because of a mutant gene. In those years he discovered how to use his super speed.
He walked into his employer’s office, “I am resigning, effective immediately.” His employer was obviously in shock. Charles seemed to love his job, and last night (relative to him) Charles had no intention of leaving. He yelled at Charles, and threatened him. Charles had been a valuable asset, and he couldn’t imagine letting him go, but Charles was resolved.
He walked out of the government complex, like a bird let out of the cage, but he was still determined. He warped time so that the outside world would let time go by faster. He warped himself to the future. There are several ways to do this, but he chose to make the outside world faster in relative time.
Suddenly he found himself at the shores of a strange island. He lay flat, face down, on the sandy beach. It was warm and comfortable there and he wished to stay. He looked up and he saw a big building, which was definitely not primitive. It looked like a house of the future.
He could hear mechanical sounds above him, and he looked over to see a man. Although he was not a man, every time he moved you could hear gears and hydraulics shifting. Yet he could easily pass as a man. He was a character that should be familiar to us as he spoke “Hello Charles, my name is Cyvan Vincent. I am the president of the Global Intelligence Agency. I know what you can do, and I summoned you here using my vast and fantastic technology. Welcome to the future.”

*****
Hammonton, NJ
Benjamin Wade sat in the coffee shop on Main Street with the mysterious Richard O. Daimon. Richard had recently come in from the Far East, on his expedition, for the sole purpose of meeting Ben to help him with his mission. “I have studied under all of the great sorcerers and masters of the dark arts. I have seen more than my share of the supernatural. I have been told by a spirit-guide to meet you here, to help you.”
Richard had been born into a life of affluence. As a child he always loved magic. He started with magic tricks when he was a young boy. He was tutored in the art of the illusions by the greatest in the business. His parents died when he was about twelve and he was sent to an orphanage. He hid his parent’s family fortune in a cave somewhere. As a teenager he read a book about the Supernatural. After learning of its powers, he vowed to learn all that it had to offer. He ran away and used his family fortune to support his travels around the world. He studied different doctrines, beliefs, and religions about the spiritual realm. He met with a great sorcerer in the Himalayas, who introduced him to his first spirit guide, and taught him how to tap into dark powers. But most of his powers were result of spiritual delusion, not quite what Richard expected. He left his first master and studied under several other masters, while he adventured in the spiritual realm, and he also created his own doctrine on the spiritual. He also joined a ninja cult, where he learned their ways.
Richard then legally changed his last name to Daimon, at the request of a spiritual guide. He began to travel the world and handle evil spirits and supernatural catastrophes, achieving and higher spiritual rank.
“What do you believe about the spiritual realm?”
“Well I don’t know much about this mysterious dimension, but I know that there are different ranks of spiritual beings. Mortals are at the lowest rank next to maybe animals. There are at least three beings that have achieved the highest spiritual level. I have attained a higher rank for taming violent spirits. The laws of the spiritual realm are shifting, which can result in a shift of the laws of physics.”
“What about right and wrong?”
“It’s a mere cliché. Only you can decide what is right and wrong for yourself.”
“Well right now a certain spirit has sent mortal henchmen after my friends and I. They wish to decimate the population of the world to jump-start biological evolution.” Ben laid some Xeroxed blue prints on the table. “This is the bomb they intend to use. It releases a special energy that will kill evolutionary dead ends. The survivors will repopulate and create a horrifying existence. These men do not know what they are doing.”
“I will help you, but I will first try to contact the spirit that is in charge of these men.”
*****
Paranormal Control HQ
John Saturn sat in the room with Andrew, who was shell shocked. “When I came here I had one goal, to be able to toughen up. I talked to Dr. Michaels about this, and he said that my idea of pain is a psychological standard. I feel a punch breeze by me and I can tell it will hurt, so I react. He said that exposure to pain could help. Yesterday he put me on painkillers and put me through unimaginable torture. Then today we did it without painkillers.” He said in his thoughts.
“Listen,” John said telepathically, “your memories are basically made of complex chemical compounds. Only if you let me, I can shift those chemicals out of the forefront of your thoughts. But whatever you forget, remember this, no more experiments with Dr. Michaels. OK?”
Andrew nodded and the process began.



Chapter 4

Benjamin Wade was born with the amazing power of mind-sight; he could mentally see into the 5th dimension. This resulted in not only precognition and post cognition, but also the ability to see into every possible future and alternate timeline. Ben grew up in the comic book generation, and his favorite series was one about a ninja (which we cannot name for legal reasons), a warrior of the dark who would fight perils the evil spirits would send after him.
Benjamin trained hard in martial arts and even parkour. He also taught himself a form of fencing, or sword fighting ninja-style. He opened a martial arts school in South Jersey and began training a select few in the things he had learned. Then, somewhere along the way, he began experimenting with drugs. Most of his students left him. One night, while on drugs, Ben destroyed his room fighting “dragons from the evil spirits”. He later crafted a ninja-like outfit and started breaking up drug rings, not knowing he was only a pawn for higher powers.
He soon found a group of friends who had similar interests and he trained them quickly in the ninja way. They traveled the world, thanks to an anonymous philanthropist, and fought dragons. Whether or not these “dragons” existed I am not sure, but they fought something. After returning to the states the clan of ninjas started initiating younger members, including Tommy who brought in an unknown drug to heighten reflexes.
The Cult (as they called themselves) spent much time (on drugs) contacting spirits, and learning about the future. They believed there was an impending fight with an evil spirit, who would turn Earth to a hellish wasteland. They were determined to save the world.

*****
In the Basement at Wade’s School of Martial Arts
There were candles everywhere, lit for this very special occasion. Tommy and three others his age stood nervously waiting. Everyone was wearing white robes and standing with their heads down. Benjamin stood on a small platform and nodded.
The rookies stepped forward, with Tommy in the forefront. Benjamin introduced each prospective member to the other members. “By many, you have been known as Tommy, but in this brotherhood you shall be Lightning, for your fast reflexes.” He then turned to the next one “And you Robert, shall be known as Glow for your ability to see in the dark.” Then to the next. “You Mark, shall be Sharp, for your intelligence and quick mind. What have the council to say of this?”
The council had two members that you would need to remember. One called Crawler could crawl on walls and such. The other, Empath, could sense emotions of others and genuine feelings. Among the Cult, Benjamin went by the codename Eye. In their midst sat Richard Daimon, an outsider who had never felt more welcome. He went by the codename Daimon.
The council of course agreed. Suddenly Benjamin’s eyes became glazed as he peered into the future and saw many horrible sights.
The members sat down on the wooden benches and Ben walked to the front of the platform. “I have seen many things of the future, a future that is closer than we would like it to be. The spirits have told me a secret group called the Society of Terrorists has created a bomb, which emits a special energy, with the potential to wipe out a majority of the living organisms on the surface of the Earth. It kills all organisms without a certain rare substance in their DNA. They expect the survivors of the explosion to start the next evolution, but I have seen the pain it will bring to nature. The man who invented the bomb, his name is Jaeger Smith. I plan to break in the front entrance, with force and skill they are not prepared for. Sharp can dismantle the bomb, and then we make a mad dash to get out. It will be a suicide mission, but we’ve handled worse before. Tommy, bring the enhancers forward.”
Tommy walked forward with the black box. He opened it to reveal the syringes filled with a substance that can superhumanly enhance one’s reflexes.

*****
Paranormal Control HQ, Superhuman Asylum
Dr. Michaels and John Saturn watched Elijah thru the one-sided glass. Elijah was using his powers to bend the air around the table and lift it up. “Sucked the oxygen out of 6 people back in West Virginia, killed three of them, one was his father. He’s very dangerous potentially. I need you to find out what you can.”
John swiped his card and walked into the room. In his department he was usually the one to study superhumans after they were brought in. None of his colleagues knew that he used superpowers to do his studies. He could sense all the aspects of the brain, and since the brain is the center for all bodily functions he could sense the potential of one’s powers. “You can bend air around you.” John began. 
“I know.” said Elijah. 
“But that is not your real power. You absorb the powers of others in close proximity. Your air bending has been added to your DNA.”
“But how?” Elijah asked. “Who?”
“I don’t know, but right now you have telekinetic control of air.” John took the things he was sensing and began printing the data out of the computer, using his technopathic powers.

*****
Andrew’s Room
Dr. Michaels sat there with his syringe and needle, ready to inject Andrew with a mutagen. “I’m not sure about this. Mr. Saturn said that I shouldn’t be in any of these experiments.” Andrew said in a half-whiny voice. 
“Mr. Saturn doesn’t have a doctorate in genetics. This injection will allow you to heal from any wound, your nerves are far too sensitive and many of them keep dying.” Michaels protested, as he pulled out the needle. Upon seeing the needle, Andrew fainted and Michaels injected the accelerated healing mutagen.
Suddenly the door bust open with a superior officer holding a gun. “Michaels, this is an unauthorized experiment on a minor.” Michaels attempted to move, so the officer fired the gun and a dart shot out. Michaels fell to the floor in a slumber. The officer then turned his attention to Andrew who woke up. He looked at his hands as some scrapes, which he accumulated from some previous accidents, healed up in seconds. The mutagen had done its work.
John walked into the room with his handgun ready. After looking around the room, he put his gun away. He ran over to Andrew to see what happened. “Additive mutagens; they are special genetic formulas that can give one person superpowers. We borrowed the formula from one Philip Phoebus. We have been working for the longest time on creating an American super-weapon, a sort of real life superman.” The officer explained.
Suddenly he was interrupted by a wailing alarm and flashing lights. A voice came over the intercom “SECURITY BREECH AT THE FRONT ENTRANCE. ALL AVAILABLE UNITS TO ARMS. INTRUDERS ARE CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMLY DANGEROUS. USE OF LETHAL FORCE IS AUTHORIZED.”
Suddenly the Chief of the Department ran into the room. The chief motioned to the officer to leave, so the officer drew his gun and left. “Director Saturn, I will be frank with you. Our Department is in a state of war with New Axis,” the chief started. John had heard of New Axis; the CIA had been researching them for years. They acted as a bona-fide country, but the CIA could not locate their homeland or headquarters. “I need you to protect the Superhuman Asylum, we will probably need to evacuate all occupants,” the chief said while handing John a gun.
“What about Level 3?” John inquired. Level 3 was the section where they kept the most potentially dangerous superhumans. “I will have to trust you to find a solution,” the chief said as he left the room, “because I may not come back.”

*****
John watched from the monitor room on the different TV screens as many of his colleagues and friends rushed the heavily armed soldiers, with only handguns. One or two intruders were merely wounded, but many surprised agents were shot dead defending their base. Due to the secrecy of Paranormal Control’s operations the public would never acknowledge these men’s deaths, but John would always remember them as valiant fighters. They were heroes indeed.
The department had lost half of its men, and finally more agents were dispatched with heavier weapons. Still, the attempt was almost futile. John watched as more people died and Andrew cowered in the corner. The intruders advanced towards the Superhuman Asylum, only having taken on a few casualties.
John left the monitor room and began to think. He went to level 1 and swiped his card. Level 1 was where they kept the less dangerous, cooperative superhumans. He walked into the gym where the occupants of level one had retreated to, in event of the warning. John spotted out one special superhuman named Christopher Walker, who had the power to teleport himself and other objects anywhere. “Chris, I need you to get everyone in this level and level 2 and teleport them away.” The superhumans crowded around him. John stopped one of them, who went by the nickname Jet. “I need you to stay behind and help me,” John said. Jet nodded and he ran to the elevator with John. Andrew stayed behind to be teleported away.

*****
John and Jet sat in the elevator, kind of awkwardly, listening to the elevator music while they knew there was a war going on outside. Finally, the doors opened to the dark, cold concrete containment unit. Of course it would take more than concrete to hold the most physically powerful superhumans in the world. John swiped his card in the slot, and entered the code to release all detainees. As the doors opened fear came upon John and Jet, and a shiver came up their spines. John’s heart pounded, for his lack of protection, hoping that his telepathy would help him.
Elijah was the first to wander out; he was then followed by a superhuman with the codename Fahrenheit. Clark Blake stayed in his cell for reasons unknown. The fourth detainee also stayed in his cell. Jet stood there, absolutely bewildered that John was able to calm these legendary superhumans known to residents of the Superhuman Asylum as monsters.
“I have been using my telepathic powers to conduct months of therapy sessions with them,” John replied, since he had read his mind, “but there is one that I have not been able to contact.” John walked into the final cell to reveal the one they called the Creature. He stood over six feet tall with amazingly ripped muscles. His body was covered in fur, which had sticky properties, but he usually kept shaved. His legs were bolted to the ground and he sat in a fetal position. He was surrounded by a contraption, which was hooked up to a large needle pointed at the back of his head, set up in such a way that if he tried to break free the needle would bore into his head and kill him. He sat there with a television in front of his face and his mind had wasted away to an animalistic state. That is why your mother tells you not to watch too much TV.
John walked up and pushed the TV away and used his technopathic powers to free the Creature from his contraption. Instantly the Creature jumped up and roared, instilling fear in the other superhumans. Suddenly his hands were around John’s neck, about to squeeze tight. “Where is my daughter? WHERE IS MY FAMILY?” He growled. It is hard for one to imagine that this monster was ever a family man, but it was so, what seemed to be eons ago. Suddenly the Creature understood that John meant no harm, and he saw how John had been looking out for him all these years. The Creature released his grip, and John fell to the ground coughing.
After catching his breath John stood up among five other superhumans who could easily beat him to a pulp if they had the mind to. He prayed for God’s protection, and hoped that he would be able to dampen their powers with his telepathy. He telepathically relayed the situation to the others. He had used his technopathic powers to see through the security cameras outside; he saw that there was a procession of black SUVs loaded with armed soldiers from the mysterious “country” New Axis. John had used his telepathy to disguise himself as one of the officer’s conscience, and began poking around with questions. The trick was child’s play on a subject who wasn’t aware of John’s existence or his powers. Apparently New Axis was hoping to capture superhumans for their army. They were not aware that the superhumans were no longer in the base. Upon learning the situation the others seemed that they were ready to fight.
Jet had come to the Superhuman Asylum years ago. During his adolescence he began exhibiting the power of flight. He learned that he could fly at super-sonic speeds, and soon learned that he enjoyed flying. Jet was one of two heroes that were born with two powers; he also had dense titanium-like skin. He was found by the Paranormal Control, suffering from amnesia, after he hit his head. He had apparently left a town that was suffering damage from a sonic boom. He came to live at the Superhuman Asylum where he developed his powers.
Elijah had worked with the Paranormal Control for years, without even hearing that name. He worked on a genetic project to create America’s first superhuman. After he left the project it fell through. The PC tried to figure out his powers. It was apparent that he exhibited a form of telekinesis, via bending air around other objects, but John knew that his real power was the ability to absorb the powers of others.
Fahrenheit was found on the streets without any ID or trace of his past life. He had seemed to “conveniently forgot” everything. Fahrenheit was a classic example of a PC mission, wrapped up neatly. How they knew of his plot to heat up Earth’s atmosphere to insane temperatures is nothing short of a miracle. They quietly defeated, detained him, and brainwashed the witnesses of the event. Fahrenheit had the power to manipulate temperatures in objects and in his surroundings, without being affected by the temperature change. He spent his days in a cell, being fed a drug through a tube that suppressed his powers. He could still use them, but not to an extent where he could affect anything outside his cell. His cell was coated with a substance that was resistant to extreme temperatures. John had eventually talked him into calming down, and putting his powers to good use.
The Creature was a whole different story. As the Creature’s primary researcher, John didn’t know how to classify his powers. Most mutants had one power, which could have many different effects and physical manifestations. The Creature seemed to have many powers, but at the same time he seemed to be a completely different creature. I mean, do you call an iguana’s ability to turn invisible and sticky tongue powers? The Creature could regenerate skin cells, limbs, and organs instantly; but the only thing he couldn’t regenerate was his brain cells. Thus a shot to the head would be fatal. His skin had prehensile hairs, which had grown into a sort of fur over the last few years, having the ability to let him stick to any solid surface. But his muscles (and muscle cells) were the most fascinating thing about him. Instead of getting energy from chemical reactions to cause motion, the muscle cells derived energy from an extra dimensional source know as the Kinetic Force. His muscles were surprisingly durable allowing them to withstand the release of energy and the wear and tear from extensive use. Translation: he theoretically had virtually unlimited strength, but it was limited by his biological makeup and physiology.
The Creature had been an experienced superhero back in the 50s and 60s, in a generation of superheroes that had been wiped from the memory of the populous. He had fought with some of the greatest superheroes of his time, saved the universe from paranormal phenomenon, and was considered a formable fighter by anyone he worked with or against. Yes it may not seem like he was even alive in the 50s but he was much younger than he looked, and he aged at a very slow pace. In the late 60s early 70s, there was an influx of young new heroes that began popping up; the legendary Creature began to settle down and eventually started a family.
It is not known what happened to the heroes of that time, or how they were washed from the memory of the public, but the Creature paid for it. It was a day like any other when people came to take his entire family away, his children and grandchildren. He watched his wife die in front of him. His home was destroyed in an explosion and he ran away from a mysterious group. He lived in the forest for years. Eventually he was caught by his pursuers and beat brutally. He was found dying in the forest by the Paranormal Control, with evidence that he may have healed from a bullet it the brain, but John assured them it was beyond his capabilities. Of course he had been wrong before.
The Control detained him in a highest security after he came out of a coma and became a raging madman. They set up a contraption that would pierce a spike thru his head if he tried to break free of his bonds.
“There is one more here who can help us,” John stated. He led the others into the cell in the left corner. “Mr. Blake?” he said, sticking his head into the concrete cells. Blake was hooked up to a machine that calmed him down and compelled him to be more submissive. John shut down the machine prematurely and Blake’s eyes snapped open wide. Suddenly John was flying through the air and only stopped when he hit the concrete wall. “MY NAME IS META-MAN, THE GREATEST SUPERHUMAN ALIVE!!” After regaining consciousness, John uses his telepathy to paralyze Meta-Man completely.
He was not quite sure of Clark Blake’s past; it wasn’t in his file because the chief withheld it. The PC found him and was immediately attracted to his power. They sought him out and began molding him into their ideal superhuman. His power was classified as “multiple type telekinesis”. He had the potential to move anything with his mind; from subatomic particles, to atoms and molecules, to light objects. He had the potential to move impossibly heavy objects with his mind, but had not yet tapped into this potential. His powers resulted in a few interesting tricks including self-levitation (flight), creating streams of intense heat, heating other objects remotely, and stopping objects that were moving at incredibly fast speeds. Recently Dr. Michaels had used gene-splicing techniques to give Meta-Man virtually invulnerable skin.
John was able to telepathically calm Meta-Man down and convince him to join their cause. He of course knew that Blake would be hard to keep in line.

*****
Level 2, Entrance
The intruders burst their way thru the front door of the Superhuman Asylum. One pulled a charge out of his pocket and went to put it on the next door. Suddenly the chief jumped out of nowhere, and shot two intruders. Another intruder whirled around and shot him in the chest. As the chief fell to the floor, he pressed a button on a remote in his hand. Suddenly the intruders noticed lights blinking all around the room. The first floor burst into flames and debris, in an epic explosion. The second floor instantly crumbled on top.

*****
Deep Underground, Level 3, Meta-Man’s Cell
Level three was built to withstand a nuclear explosion, which it needs to be since it contained two users of the Kinetic Force (The Creature and Meta-Man) who could release more energy than a nuclear explosion. Level 3 was built with beyond-practical safety features since the PC couldn’t take a chance.
From Meta-Man’s cell, the superhumans could feel the ground shake. Elijah stepped up and began to bend the air in the concrete-like walls. He broke up the ceiling creating a large hole in it, and then brought his comrades up with him to ground level. They hid behind a nearby dumpster, as Fahrenheit noticed a black SUV with soldiers standing outside waiting for orders. Fahrenheit began walking through the rubble; he focused his powers on their guns, heating them up to extreme temperatures causing them to explode. The soldiers that were alive he instantly froze, killing them.
He looked to his left and noticed another SUV filled with soldiers. The soldiers whirled around and fired at him, as if their life depended on it, being unsure of his potential. He created a ripple of hot air as a wall between them, as the bullets passed through the wall they melted, traveling only a couple feet before plopping to the ground. He moved closer towards the soldiers, when suddenly the soldiers and their vehicle were covered by a fearful shadow cast from above. Then, as they looked up, the Creature dropped out of the sky, landing on the SUV and instantly crushing it beneath his feet. The soldiers began to fire at him, but their bullets either missed as he flipped around to dodge them, or created wounds that instantly healed. He flipped off the wrecked vehicle, landing on a terrified soldier and killing him with his feet. Another soldier rushed after him, but dropped dead after a slap on the head which crushed his skull. The Creature then turned around to punch another soldier in the chest, killing him. He ran after another soldier, killing him with ease, but not noticing the other soldier aiming at him from behind the vehicle. Suddenly the car blew to bits as Fahrenheit heated up the gas tank.

*****
Outside the Head Quarters, Meta-Man dealt with the procession of SUVs filled with soldiers. He created two streams of intense heat, coming from his head, that he used to melt the two lines of vehicles. Two soldiers jumped out of the car and fired at Meta-Man. Big mistake, they discovered as he stopped the bullets in midair… then turned them around and fired them straight into the soldiers’ heads. The procession was no more.

*****
Jaeger Smith’s Weapon Artillery, Washington DC
Three security guards sat at the desk in the artillery, completely unsuspecting of what was about to happen. Suddenly seven black-suited ninjas came bursting through the heavy front door. The guards drew their guns to confront these bizarre unbelievable intruders. The ninjas darted forward and I need not tell you how it ended. Ninjas fight to the death, and no ninja blood was shed in this brief confrontation.
Sharp got on the computer and began opening the cases holding the latest technology in weaponry. Crawler crawled up the walls and hid in a dark corner on the ceiling. The others began sabotaging the equipment, while Sharp continued to hack through files with Benjamin.
It just so happened at the time that Zack was racing back and forth among the east coast to build up his stamina. Suddenly he heard that echoing voice again. He toyed with the idea that it might be God, but decided God would be a little more subtle then to tell him exactly what building to enter. Zack burst into the artillery at sonic speeds. By instinct, he slammed into Lightning, and pushed him against one of the cases. He didn’t notice Crawler drop from the ceiling with a sword in his hand, and it was too late after he was sliced in the back. He whirled around instinctively and struck his head with and open palm, ending his life. Lightning quickly drew his sword and went to stab this stranger, not knowing it was actually his best friend. Zack saw it with his mind sight, whirled around, and ducked. He then aimed a punch at his attacker’s stomach, but Lightning flipped over him and kicked him in the face. Zack pushed him back with a force field, knocking him to the ground.
Suddenly the lights went out and the ninjas felt as if they were in their element. Still Zack could see, light or no light. All this happened in less than two seconds. Glow attacked first, being able to naturally see in the dark. Zack put up a wall-like force field that Glow hit, going at 60 mph. He somehow survived, but staggered. Empath, Daimon, and Lightning attacked him from different sides. Zack projected a skin-tight force field around himself, which broke the swords of Lightning and Daimon. But Empath had stolen an energy sword, which cut thru Zack’s force field. Zack whirled around to block it with his arm, but when it pierced his arm he flew straight upward, slicing his arm.
He aimed an energy bolt right on the sword, firing from his hand, and destroying the expensive weapon. Knowing he had been defeated, Empath pulled out a small knife and attempted to kill himself. “NO!” Zack screamed trying to stop him. Suddenly he was struck down by a “magical” energy blast from Daimon, and fell to the ground as Empath took his own life.
Zack whirled around as Lightning delivered a nice punch in the face. Daimon ran over to help Benjamin and Sharp. Zack and Lightning exchanged blows, finding out that they had met their match in speed. Finally Zack had a revelation (or a message from the mysterious voice) to look behind the mask. He used his mind sight to do so, and of course saw his best friend.
Back at the computer, Benjamin became frantic as he and Daimon realized their spirit guides wanted them somewhere else. Daimon shared that he knew a spell that could teleport people. Sharp tried to hack into the file for the blueprint of the bomb. After typing in the wrong code, the computer generated a large shock, knocking Sharp unconscious. Benjamin feared for his life, he grabbed onto Daimon who teleported them away. Then in mid-teleportation Daimon disappeared to another place, leaving Ben alone.

*****
Benjamin landed in the Paranormal Control base as his precognition told him he would. He had spent a week or so on these grounds until the Control wasn’t sure if he really had any powers. Benjamin was unnoticed by the others, but by precognition he saw a bullet hit one of his fellow superhumans. He jumped out in front of it, and instantly died. He fell to the ground on the hard pavement not noticed by the superhumans or the soldiers.
Elijah joined his comrades, and began sucking the oxygen out of the soldiers. Jet then zoomed in out of nowhere, at Mach 1, and delivered a fatal punch to the soldier. The Creature continued ripping soldiers apart in his special fashion. Fahrenheit resulted to burning them alive.
The superhumans grouped back into a little circle as they found more soldiers, coming out of nowhere, surrounded them. Suddenly the heroes were shocked by a loud bang as a bullet tore through the Creature’s face. Elijah was filled with warring rage, he clenched his teeth and watched as all those around him dropped dead: Jet, Fahrenheit, Creature, and the soldiers that had surround him. Realizing what he had done, Elijah broke down once more, and cried out for his lost comrades.

*****
Back at Jaeger Smith’s Artillery
Zack took a beating from his best friend in the world. It was ironic, they used to wrestle as kids, and box as younger teens. They were always perfectly matched in strength and reflexes. Now the stakes were only raised to the next level. Zack had gone through reality altering experiments that allowed him to reach straining maximums of lifting 3 tons and moving at mach 1. On the other hand Tommy had injected an insane amount of the supernatural steroid, and there was no real measure on his strength.
In all the times Ryan and Thomas fought, Ryan never took a beating, he always matched the fight, but this time he had to. He eventually moved to a better defense, putting up a force field. This ninja didn’t give up, just like any good ninja should. He continued to kick at the wall until Zack let it down and grabbed his leg. Zack then flipped him onto his face, but Tommy got up quick. “Tommy, wait!” Zack said, not knowing what else to do. “Tommy, it’s me Ryan.” Tommy did stop, and dropped his sword. Fear came upon his face, but his inner feelings were of remorse laced with concern.
“How?” was all he could say.
“I want to ask you the same thing,” Zack replied “but I can tell it’s the effect of the drugs.”
“It’s not what you think. This company has a bomb… they are going decimate a majority of humanity. We have to stop them. The Cult, they were going to save the world, but you killed them.”
Zack grabbed Tommy, and suddenly became more serious than he had ever been. “The cops will be here in less than a minute. You need to leave. You need to get help. I know of someone who helps convicts and runaways like yourself.”
“I’m not the bad guy, I’m going to save the world.”
Zack motioned to the dead security guards. “And are their lives dispensable. Does the end justify the means? If you continue sowing evil you’re going to reap just that.”
“We are at war!” Tommy protested.
“Yes, and now you’re at war with the country you live in. This can be fixed. You can change for the better.”
“And now you’re going to tell me about Jesus fixing my mistakes.” It had been five years since Zack had come to accept this truth.
“If you believe the Bible is just another book, it’s not, and in it is the way to know you’re going to heaven when you die. God exists, and He loves you. If you’d just take a moment to ask Him to show Himself to be real, to prove Himself and His Word, He will do that.” With that the sirens were heard and Tommy began to pull away.
“I don’t have time for that, I’m leaving the country tonight. Don’t try and follow me, flying man.” Tommy turned around and ran away, jumping through a glass window. Zack flew out the same way and headed straight for the satellite base.

*****
Back at the Paranormal Control HQ
Dead bodies were lying everywhere. During the battle only John, Elijah, and Meta-Man survived. John’s department was in shambles, and its assets and duties would now be taken over by the other departments. Suddenly a white limo drove up to John. Elijah and Meta-man had left under John’s orders. A tall young man with naturally white hair opened the door, and the president of the Paranormal Control stepped out. He walked up to John and shook his hand. John could sense his great remorse over the loss; some great men died that day.
Then the president hit him with something unexpected “The Board of Directors has decided to promote you to join their ranks.” The Board of Directors was over all the departments, and often worked directly with the President of the United States. They even acted as a small department themselves and transferred intelligence between the departments. “Fred, hand me the sheets” the president said holding out his hand behind him. Fred, the white haired man, handed him a clipboard. “It says here that we lost 99 agents, which is all of them in this department except you. And you said that you teleported the superhumans to a safe place?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And where would that be?” 
John stood frozen, as he realized that he never designated a place. 
“Well then, we must make that our priority, to find the superhumans. They are in grave danger. New Axis is after them all.”

*****
Super Corp Satellite, Doc’s Lab
“Thanks to paranormal technology we have discovered subatomic particles, which are always found laced with the cells of living organisms. The properties of these particles seem to vary, all they have in common is their size. These particles manifest any living organism with dormant superpowers, which can surface if one has mutated cells or specifically alters their DNA.” Doc explained while he showed a model of the particle on his computer screen. “I find it quite possible that this is how life first evolved.”
“How can that be?” Zack asked, obviously instigating a debate, which he enjoyed. “The mutations still do not allow an organism to move from say a bird to a salamander. It just moves the organism from a bird to a bird with superpowers. That’s not macroevolution, its either microevolution or mutation, which will not pass on to the offspring.”
“How can you not walk a mile without taking the first step?” Doc replied wisely.
“Yes, but what scientific evidence do we have for moving between two different animals? None. There is no actual transitional species, and in over two hundred years we have seen no animals move into a new group and lose its basic characteristics.”
“There would be nothing short of time travel that would convince you that it happened.”
“Who said I haven’t traveled through time.” Zack said with a smile.



Chapter 5
Earth, 2012
Everyone used to freak out that the world would end in 2012, but they should have feared it happening much sooner. It had been two years since the population of living organisms on Earth was greatly decimated. No longer did anyone worry about overpopulation, but now they worried about the next time they’d see a neighbor, as they scourged the Earth for habitable land.
There were only a few people on the Earth, maybe at maximum 2,000, and they all feared the iron fist of the Society of Terrorists. Instead of evolving like the Terrorists had expected, humans suffered from radiation poison, and sort of “devolved”. Their life spans shortened and they became more prone to disease.
Not only all of this but apparently all of the superhumans had disappeared, and the potential for superpowers (previously held by all living organisms) had disappeared. This was because the long gone and forgotten Paranormal Control had set off another bomb to destroy all paranormal activity.
Warp was running thru a dessert that used to be all Midwestern farm area, filled with vegetation. Gunshots could be heard behind him, as terrorists ran after him with AK-47s firing at the moving target. They finally hit his kneecap, which they intended to do. They caught up with him and pointed their guns. “Where is the resistance?” one screamed.
“I will never tell you,” he protested bravely. The Society of Terrorists were once a group of American business men who took on a life of costumed crime, and set out to create a new world order. After decimating the population of the world, they accepted some new people into their ranks and then destroyed all modern technology. A couple people who had survived formed a small resistance, which the recently de-powered Warp (who was once known as Charles) joined.
The terrorists loaded their guns, but a shot rang in the air and the terrorists fell over dead. Warp looked over and saw his old colleague, but didn’t recognize him because he was erased from the timeline. Now pay attention, the reason he was erased from the timeline was because Warp’s future self had went back in time and kidnapped him as a baby. Curt, Charles’ old colleague, was standing next to Warp’s future self. Somehow, Warp had transferred into an alternate future and then back to his original timeline, where he discovered that superhumans no longer existed. Apparently when he transferred to the alternate timeline, he duplicated into two persons, and his doppelganger stayed behind and lost his powers.
“The carbon dioxide level will soon kill the population of the world,” the super powered Warp said. “I need you to build the resistance so I can go back in time to stop this.”

*****
Present Day, Somewhere on the East Coast of the US, in a moving black van
Elijah woke up suddenly and realized it was just a dream, but as John looked back at him he began to doubt it. “Benjamin was an amazing superhuman, with mind sight that could see into the fifth dimension. It allowed him to see the past, and all the possible alternate futures. You seem to have absorbed his power.” John explained, but Elijah wasn’t sure how. “I will be able to study the full potential of your powers when we reach our destination.”
Elijah wasn’t sure where they were; John had blinded his sense of direction. He knew he was on the east coast, but didn’t know where they were going. Elijah’s sleeping during the entire ride made things worse. He had been plagued with strange dreams, ever since the battle, of a future time when the world’s population had been decimated.
He had agreed to take a long trip with John to a mysterious friend’s house where they could solve the problem of the disappeared superhumans. Elijah wasn’t told much, since it was all classified, but it seemed that New Axis had kidnapped the superhumans at their destination. Elijah had gotten so much sleep over the past week, and it always seemed to be night when he was up; everything seemed dreary. Elijah had not seen John sleep the whole five days, but seemed to still be very much alive. Despite his superpowers, his enhanced brain, and his natural ability to multi-task, Elijah felt uneasy about John driving so much. John claimed he slept in the back of the van in the daytime, but Elijah was asleep during the day. At night he would be up for a few minutes, then go back to sleep for a half hour. Elijah also had dreams about the past. He saw his mother one more time. He also relived her death. He saw a character that used to live in New York named Canine. Canine had altered his own DNA to cross it over with that of a canine. Apparently he had known Fred Howell, who was now an agent at Paranormal Control. Canine cleaned up the streets of New York after the September 11th attacks, and became a symbol of hope to many, and a legend to others. These things all seemed so foreign and unreal, but they were real. Canine inspired Elijah to accept the challenge before him, so he endured the long trip, and looked ahead to the adventure.

*****
Unknown Location, at a mansion
Elijah woke up as John drove through the front gate and around the looped driveway with a fountain at the center, so that the driver-side was close to the front porch. Elijah wasn’t sure where they were, but he figured it could very well be New England area, or possibly even Canada.
Elijah and John got out of the car; Elijah noticed that the property was covered more by the house than the landscape. The House was beautifully lighted and decorated. The two started the walk up the stairs, through the porch, to the front door. “I thought you said we were going to a church,” Elijah wondered in his mind. “Looks can be deceiving,” John responded telepathically as he knocked on the door. Apparently the owner was waiting for them, because the door was instantly opened, and there stood a tall middle-aged African American. “Pastor Marcus,” John exclaimed as they embraced, much to Elijah’s surprise. “I would like you to meet Elijah Grimm, he is one of us.”
Soon they were sitting in Marcus’ living room, listening to Marcus tell about himself. Marcus had been a pioneer in the field of paranormal science, starting his own company and becoming a multi-millionaire. But he left it all and retired after he “found God”, which Elijah found weird. Was God lost? Was God hiding in this big mansion? Marcus joined a lively local church and became heavily involved. It was only recently that Marcus was ordained and became a youth pastor. He opened his mansion to the youth of his church. He also discovered their area was heavily populated with superhumans, which had concentrated in his town and surrounding areas. Marcus opened his mansion to them also and became a guidance counselor to them, even teaching them to use their powers.
Even more recently he obtained permission from the President for them to secretly operate as adventurers, and in return the President kept their existence a secret from the Paranormal Control.
Marcus eventually left John and Elijah for a youth group meeting, which he held in the next room. He had cleared out an entire banquet room and made it into a meeting room where the teenagers engaged in deep discussions about the Bible. Elijah couldn’t understand why these young people would waste their time on this, but they all seemed to enjoy it. Elijah became curious. John talked of the influence that Marcus had on his life, rambling on in religious jargon. John had been going to their church for a few years before Marcus came in. At first they didn’t know he was rich. Marcus helped the young John discover how to use his powers and John taught him theology. John eventually left the small town at a young age to serve his country. He joined the armed forces but got roped into the Paranormal Control, which came to him under the guise of Homeland Security.
Elijah fell asleep once more, and when he awoke in the chair in the living room an hour had passed. He poked his head into the meeting room and discovered the youth meeting was over. The teens rushed out of the room as if they were leaving math class. A few stayed behind and talked to Marcus about “spiritual gifts” and other gifts, so Elijah sat down to wait. Those two kids left and another one walked up to Marcus, who checked to see that all kids had left. “Are you ready?” he asked the youngster who nodded, then to Elijah. “You may want to see this.” Elijah remained apathetic until he noticed the boy rise off the floor. He floated in mid-air and inched forward as Marcus encouraged him to move forward. Elijah watched in wonder, as if he were watching a baby learn to walk. Suddenly the young boy got it and zoomed out the door, down the hallway, and through a secret door.
Elijah followed Marcus through the door into the hidden basement, which was more alive than the levels above. The basement was crawling with young superhumans who were testing their powers. Some of them seemed to use their powers with ease, while others struggled to do some very basic things. Here in the basement, these superhumans stayed hidden from the Paranormal Control, and were safe under the moral guidance of Marcus. No one ever underestimated Marcus, because they knew he could take down the most dangerous of the superhumans, even though he had no powers himself. Marcus led Elijah thru the practicing sessions into a dark room full of equipment. There was a recliner chair with sensors, and high tech machinery. Elijah sat in the chair and Marcus hooked him up to the sensors, as Elijah fell asleep once more.

*****
Elijah woke up in an office, in a swivel chair, after having a dream about the explosion to come. As he woke up, five figures came into view. Their quiet conversation sounded to him like mumbling. He strained to focus on what they were saying, only to learn they were talking about him. “Some of the subatomic particles which give you powers leave you after you die. Elijah seems to have the power to absorb these particles, thus absorbing the powers of those who die around him,” Marcus explained to the four superhumans there. “He recently absorbed his father's power of precise air bending. Then he seems to have absorbed precognition, unlimited super strength, accelerated healing, steel-like skin, flight at super-sonic speeds, wall-crawling, and temperature control.”
“He definitely absorbed those powers from his fallen comrades in the battle at the base,” John interjected.
“Yes but he also has one dangerous power that I have not been able to understand. Apparently he can kill a person without touching them. He only would need a simple thought. I haven’t yet discovered what this thought is…”
At this time Elijah became fully conscious. “Then I am far too dangerous, I could decimate a majority of the population with this power.”
John then spoke up. “If it’s the visions you’ve had that you are worrying about, your power simply does work on that big, yet precise of a scale. You will either kill one specific person, or all those around you. But we can help you. I can block your killing power mentally, if you’ll let me.”
“Are you sure? I could accidentally kill you in the process.”
“That’s not quite how it works. Your killing powers need to rejuvenate still, I can always suppress them somewhat. Besides, we can’t have you running off…”
“Wait you found them? Are we going after them?”
“In due time,” Marcus answered. “John isn’t going with you, but you won’t go alone.”
Suddenly Elijah snapped out of it, and he noticed the other three people standing there, two guys and one younger girl.
The first person that Marcus pointed out was the shorter of the two men. Elijah instantly recognized the man from his dream. He had short, thick black hair, with widow’s peak and a receding hairline, a goatee, and he sported small square glasses. He seemed to have an intelligent air about himself. “This is Charles, codename Warp, quantum physicist, bender of time and space, and frequent time traveler.” Marcus explained.
The next man was taller, he was bald with a dark complexion, and seemed more distinguished. He was dressed nicer than the others in the room. “His codename is Shiftogen, he is an elemental changeling, resident chemist, and manager of a branch of the Hilton Chemical Labs.” Shiftogen nodded at him.
The last person was a young female, about 16. She was a lot more powerful than she looked, and in fact she was the most physically powerful in the room. “This is Kinetica, a visitor from the future, brought here by Warp. She has impossible telekinesis, meaning she can move impossibly heavy objects with her mind.”
“Here is the rule, from now on you will use only codenames.”
“Well what’s my codename?” Elijah asked.
“We decided that Morgue sounds good, considering your powers.”
“OK, but what about him?” he said, pointing to John.
“We call him Saturn.” Kinetica stated.

*****
Outside the mansion
The five superhumans stood outside the black van. John opened the back doors and pulled up the carpet to reveal that there was a clear glass case under it. Inside the case lay the catatonic Meta-Man, who was hooked up to special machinery, which calmed him down. John opened the case, and he and Shiftogen carried Meta-Man out of the case, onto the ground.
Suddenly Meta-Man’s eyes snapped open. He quickly grabbed John by the collar. “Where are they?” he demanded. John used his telepathy to calm him down, and Meta-Man dropped him. “We are going to find them, and we need to take down their army quickly.”

*****
New Axis Superhuman Prison
Andrew sat in the enlarged cell with over 50 people, all much older and bigger than him. Despite that fact, he was the only one who still had his powers. New Axis had put the former superhumans through many experiments that depleted then of their powers. Somehow, Andrew’s powers rejuvenated. This wasn’t exactly useful if a fight broke out in the cell, since his powers weren’t offensive but perceptive instead.
Andrew sat close to the bars and listened. He had been taught how to mentally block out other sounds and focus on one. He could hear thousands of New Axis soldiers, training on the other side. Many began to receive injection that gave them super-powers. No, he couldn’t hear all that, but he could hear the marching, and the captains talking about their plans.
He walked his way to the back of the cell and sat in the corner. Suddenly he noticed something, something he couldn’t explain it. He ran his hands along the bricks at the corner, and sniffed them. He had an idea. He looked at the lady who was sitting on the bench holding a sharp object to count the days gone by. “Can I borrow that?” he asked. After glaring at him, she handed the carving object over. Andrew instantly went to work carving out the bricks. The other inmates watched him in amazement, as he revealed a secret room behind their cell.

*****
American Midwest
John had telepathically “borrowed” intelligence from the CIA, since he knew many operatives that worked higher up in the department. The information speculated that New Axis had a base where they held the superhumans somewhere in the Midwest. John used his powers to locate the superhumans in that area, and eventually got into brief conversation with Andrew. John sensed the presence of superhuman soldiers. He telepathically guided his comrades to the base. Morgue, Meta-Man, and Kinetica could fly naturally. Warp had to be telepathically carried by Kinetica. Shiftogen, being an amazing shape shifter, transformed between a selection of flying objects, from birds to fighter jets to paper airplanes.
The heroes landed on a small farm, right next to the barn. They walked into the barn, not noticing that someone was aiming at them. As the gun fired, Meta-Man realized it, whirling around to stop the bullet. Morgue launched forward and attacked the sniper with his super strength. He then jumped down from the loft, landing on the wood floor. He broke the wood planks with his sheer power, falling through a hole into a secret underground lair.
Thousands of super soldiers whirled around and began shooting at him. They hit his arm, and he ducked so they didn’t hit his head. He finally pulled his focus together and melted the bullets and the guns. He then broke the sound barrier, which threw the soldiers everywhere. Shiftogen came down in a gaseous form. Suddenly he turned into metal and began bashing in the heads of the soldiers.

*****
It turned out Andrew was the only one in the cell, small enough to fit through the whole. The cellmates helped him by moving the bricks, then pushing him thru when he had no wiggle room. Andrew got through to the other side. He moved through the dark room until he found a door, which he opened hastily.
This of course was a mistake. Andrew received the intuition to duck, as a bullet flew by him. He ran back and forth as the soldiers took aim. The loud bangs rang in his ear, making him wish he could sit and cry. He quickly turned the next corner, and hid in a jut out, next to the water fountain, as he cowered there. He could hear the soldiers walking up slowly.
Sure enough the soldier spotted him and delivered a blow that nearly knocked poor Andrew out. Andrew collapsed on the floor and broke down crying. The soldier slowly drew his gun and carefully took aim. But then Andrew popped up with amazing speed, which the soldier was not prepared for. He grabbed the gun, and delivered a fatal blow to the nose. Andrew then shook his hand in pain and ran away.

*****
Beams of intense heat emitted from Meta-Man’s head, melting the catwalk where some snipers stood. One soldier whipped out a machete and leaped forward in superhuman proportions, shoving the blade into Meta-Man’s skin, but the blade broke and the soldiers face melted with one look from Meta-Man.
Several bullets fired at Meta-Man, from different directions, but he used his mind to stop them in mid-air.

*****
Meanwhile, Morgue led Shiftogen, Warp, and Kinetica through the corridors of the New Axis base. Suddenly two soldiers rounded the corner right in front of them, and aiming their guns. Kinetica rose up in the in the air and telekinetically lifted up several heavy crates which were also sitting in the hallway. The crates weighed about a ton altogether and she threw them at the two soldiers telekinetically. One soldier disappeared before impact, and the other jumped out of the way, but was hit by another crate. The first soldier re-appeared right in front of Morgue with a machete. Morgue punched at him, but the soldier teleported again, this time appearing behind Morgue. He then disappeared, and reappeared with several doppelgangers surrounding Morgue. Shiftogen then burst through the circle of soldiers in the form of acid. He then transformed into a boa constrictor, but one of the soldiers sliced off his tail, so he had to change his form. He changed back to human form, and the soldiers instantly fired at him, so he turned into titanium.
Morgue heated up the soldiers’ guns causing them to explode in their faces. After this only one soldier remained alive. He slowly stood up with his spare handgun, pointing it at Shiftogen, who disappeared. Fear overcame the soldier, and suddenly an unseen blade shanked him.

*****
During the commotion, Warp escaped with Kinetica. They ran down the corridor to the command center. In the past week they had developed a father-daughter type bond, as Warp felt responsible for her. At the same time, Kinetica took good care of her surrogate “father”.
“They’ve taken on heavy causalities,” John informed the superhumans telepathically. “The bad news is that the remaining soldiers have the power to multiply.”
As they ran, they suddenly collided into a boy who came out of the darkness; all three of them fell over. Fear came over the boy’s face, as he thought he was in for it. Instead, Warp instantly recognized him as Andrew, the Sensor, only he was much younger.
Two more soldiers came out of nowhere. John sent Kinetica a secret message telepathically. She then lifted one of the soldiers by the head, killing him. This caused the other soldier to disappear, along with all their doppelgangers throughout the base.
“Kinetica, you need to get out of here with him,” Warp said to Kinetica. She instantly picked Andrew up with her telekinesis, and flew away. Warp then shot forward at sub-light speed and burst through the command center.

*****
Although there were no airports for miles around the barn Aleksandr Adolf Carethia, world-class diplomat who secretly led New Axis, found a way to slip out of the base before the intruders came, and escape via airplane.

*****
Kinetica floated through the halls until she found Morgue and Shiftogen. They had defeated the soldiers as Kinetica picked them up and continued down the hall. John contacted them. “Kinetica, I have a job for you and Meta-Man, but I need you to get the others out first, except Warp.”

*****
The superhumans regrouped outside of the barn, without Warp. “Meta-Man and Kinetica, I need you to stop a plane,” John said. Instantly Meta-Man shot into the air and followed the directions that John gave him. The small private plane came into view. Meta-Man grabbed one of the wings and tore it off the plane. Instantly the plane rolled over and descended straight downward. Meta-Man used his heat rays to burn the shell of the plane.
Kinetica flew through the clouds and used her telekinesis to stop the plane in midair. She descended to the ground with Meta-Man and the plane. Morgue used his powers to cool the plane off, and Kinetica set it on the ground. Meta-Man then ripped the door off and knocked out the guards. As the superhumans entered the plane they realized that Aleksandr wasn’t there.
They stepped off the plane and watched as the barn exploded and went up in smokes. To further their amazement they then watched as the flames reversed, like a rewound movie, but the rumble of the barn and underground base was left behind. Then, as if that wasn’t enough to amaze them, they watched as Warp crawled out of the wreckage. The heroes surrounded their comrade to lift him up.

*****
Hammonton New Jersey, The Gates Family Farm
Ryan Gates, also known as Zack Powers, sat alone in his bedroom that he shared with four of his other brothers. He usually needed this time to pray, read his Bible, and think. It was silent, as his brothers had left the room for their Saturday activities. He had been Zack Powers for almost five years, but his existence was kept from the public. A couple years ago his friend Jesse joined his crusade. It was only recently that his parents found out about his double life, and it made things so much easier.
He pondered the things that he had seen happen on a global scale. He feared that Cyvan would accomplish a one-world government, but yet he felt no need to leave the GIA. Doc had pointed out that mankind and society itself were changing. Zack knew that there had been superheroes all throughout history, but they seemed to be on the brink of global discovery.
Suddenly he heard the mysterious telepathic voice he had heard earlier. Not only that, but also this time he saw a faint face of an adult in his twenties or thirties with blonde hair and piercing dark eyes. Beyond that Zack could not describe his features. “Mr. Powers, there is a change coming. You have a position to help impact this change in a positive way. I’m not a demi-god, nor an angel, nor a sorcerer. I am a superhuman, with my own limits, but many possibilities. I have seen an alternate future, which I am trying to prevent. But I will need the Super Corp.”
“What happened in this alternate future?” Zack asked via telepathic conversation.
“The population was heavily decimated, superhumans disappeared, and terrorist ruled the remaining people. I have a friend who can time travel, and he saw these things. I have coordinated several attacks against the terrorists, but preventing the grim future involves attacking our own government. That’s where the Super Corp comes in.”
“I’m in.”



Chapter 6

Subterranean chambers in Washington, DC
Zack walked through the chambers, which were dark and cold. The walls were made of concrete, and there were a couple of rats running around. Zack had received a tip from an “anonymous source” about the plans of Paranormal Control and Society of Terrorists. Apparently the Intelligence already knew about the Society’s plan, but upon word of the Paranormal Control’s plan, Cyvan demanded immediate action. The Control's plan to destroy the paranormal was a direct threat to the GIA and their heavy reliance on paranormal weaponry.
The GIA sent the Super Corp in first, and if all else failed, they had a tactical team surrounding the area.

*****
Above ground in Washington DC
Dexter walked down the streets of Washington, DC with Janet. As they walked a procession of cars passed them, surrounding a limo. Inside the limo sat the President of the United States. The procession moved on and turned at the Paranormal Control Main HQ in Washington. Of course the complex wasn’t labeled as such, due to the PC’s confidential nature, but Dexter and Janet knew what it was. Across the street stood a large tower, which looked quite innocent, but in reality it was a bomb! The bomb used special energy that will spread the surface of the Earth and kill a majority of the population. The bomb was designed by Jaeger Smith, a demolition expert who had ties with the mysterious Society of Terrorists.
Across the street, at the Paranormal Control HQ, stood another tower. It would release another energy that would cease all “paranormal activity” on Earth. Dexter found it quite unintelligent on their part, since that move would put them all out of a job, but the president of the PC saw it as necessary to save the country. They knew that New Axis had paranormal weapons, and they would not stand a chance against trained super soldiers.
Dexter and Janet headed for Jaeger Smith’s office building.

*****
Inside the PC HQ
Zack entered the air-conditioned main building by way of the air vents, which was connected to the underground chambers. He climbed out of the air vents into an empty office, which Intelligence told him would be empty for the weekend. He used his mind sight to see through the door, and found the hallway to be clear. He walked out of the office, down the hallway and into the room labeled “laboratory“. Zack then saw a frightening sight. In the lab were several human bodies floating inside large glass cylinders. They were superhumans, who were put in a catatonic state and studied by the lab scientists in Washington.
Suddenly Zack heard the click of a gun. His mind sight revealed a man, with the last name Bizarre on his name tag, in the doorway holding a gun up. Zack instinctively used his power to translate his body into a stream of electrons, and zoomed away. He flew out another door and down another hall. He reverted back to himself at the corner of the hall. Bizarre, caught up with him quicker than he expected. This time the amazing agent pointed his gun right at Zack’s head. Zack pulled another trick out, as he super-sped away, knocking the gun to the ground.
Bizarre ran after Zack with speed that we would not expect from a human, yet he was not super at all. It was only recently that Bizarre had discovered the existence of the Paranormal Control, and was forced to join. They had considered making him tech support, but he trained vigorously and became an exceptional field agent.
Bizarre finally caught up with Zack in the generator room. He held his gun up and fired two shots, but the bullets bounced off the force field Zack instantly put up. Bizarre then fired a third shot right at Zack’s arm. This special bullet pierced Zack’s force field and cut clean through his shoulder. Zack then mustered up all his power and flew upward, bursting through the ceiling and flew away.
As he flew forward he felt weakened, as if his powers were leaving him slowly. He dropped to the ground, still inside the base, and felt the life drain from him. Suddenly several agents were surrounding him with heavy automatic weapons. Zack struggled to his feet and put up a force field. Apparently this force field was not strong enough, as the bullets pierced through and Zack had to dodge them at top speed. He then expanded his force field so that it pushed the agents back.
The agents loaded their weapons and aimed them again. They surrounded him as a prisoner on their base. Suddenly they heard a commanding voice yell, “HOLD YOUR FIRE!” The agents turned around to see the President of the United States. Zack had always been a patriotic person even if he didn’t agree with everything the President did, he still admired the man. Zack noticed the President looked taller in person, as he walked up to the agents. “Captain Wescoat!” he barked. “Do you realize you are shooting at a teenager?” Apparently the Captain hadn’t noticed how young Zack was. “Sir, he was intruding and we were given order to shoot to kill.”
Zack then dared to speak up “Mr. President, there are two bombs here about to go off, I don’t think now is the time to fight about this.” The President had an advisor next to him who whispered something in his ear. “Lower your guns, I believe we have some work to do,” the President said and the agents listened. “Captain Wescoat, come with me, I want to talk to your boss.”

*****
Jaeger Smith Tower
Janet and Dexter soon found out that Jaeger had escaped, but not without leaving behind his gift of heavily armed soldiers. Janet put up a thick force field but Dexter walked forward, since he had metallic skin. Still the projectiles were affecting him. Then one soldier pulled out a photon cannon, aimed it at Dexter’s arm and melted it right off. But the soldiers were surprised as Dexter grew it right back. Dexter went to rush them, but Janet trapped them in a tight force field, suffocating them.
Janet ran through the doors that the soldiers were guarding and ran right to the computer. She tried desperately to shut the bomb down. Then suddenly her mind sight saw a minute into the future, and she saw something devastating. Dexter read her mind, literally. He acted impulsively, flying out a window, across the street and flying right into the bomb that the Paranormal Control set up on their base. Janet was able to shut down the other bomb, and she ran to use her telekinesis to stop the tower from falling. Zack used all his strength to put up a force field and contain the destruction and debris.
The Paranormal Control and Super Corp had at least one thing in common; they always worked in secrecy. But this time, they realized an entire city of people had seen this. Zack noted that some people had already posted movies on the Internet with their phones. In the past, the PC had used a telepath to mind wipe an entire crowd, but the telepath was dead and the word was out.

*****
Inside a Limo Driving Around Washington
Zack sat in the back of the dimly lit limo, next to Dexter and Janet. Dexter was covered in dirt and debris from the destruction of the tower. On the bench across from them sat the President’s mysterious advisor, named Michael Pierce. It seemed to Zack that this man had saved him from certain death, but he was not sure how or why. He seemed even more enigmatic as he opened up with “You seem to have gotten yourself into quite a predicament, Mister Zack Powers.”
“How do you know my name?” Zack demanded.
“We work for the same man, Mr. Powers,” Michael said. “I am known as the Secretary of Secrets, it’s an unofficial cabinet in the Executive Branch. I’m a good friend of both of the previous presidents and I advise them on issues of high confidentiality. I go by many other surnames in different countries including Buchanan, Cleveland, McKinley, Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, and Nixon. I have convinced the president you’re a private group of Americans that pioneer in paranormal science and genetically enhanced superpowers. We were able to take down both bombs and now Jaeger is a public enemy. The Paranormal Control is under reconstruction. Captain Wescoat is being promoted to the board of directors, which is good because he works with the GIA.
“The President and the new Paranormal Control are working on making you sanctioned superheroes, working for the government by contract. We are taking you to a meeting where you will negotiate the terms. The only way we can make this work is if they don’t know of your full destructive potential. Also they must never know about Cyvan or the GIA. As far as they are concerned, your codenames are your real names, but they believe you also retreat to a false identity, which has been kept anonymous. Any questions?”

*****
Gates Family Farm
Zack returned home from Washington, transformed into Ryan, and sat in the family room with his father. Videos of the incident had been taken and uploaded to the internet. The newsflashes and special reports had run all afternoon.
“Who are they? Where do they come from? And how did they get such amazing abilities? I’m here with the details that seem almost unreal.” The report started off recapping the day’s event. “Today, several viral videos were released onto the internet and stunned the world, with an event that seemed to be a repeat of the 9/11 attacks, with a awe inspiring twist.” They showed the clip of the tower crumbling within Zack’s force field. “Many critiques are calling the movie a hoax of some sort, but the truth is even more astounding than what is already being told”
The screen cut to a man explaining what he saw happen in DC that day, “I saw a man… flying really fast, and he crashed into that new tower at the base there. Then we all watched like ‘Oh no its 9/11 all over again’. Then we saw this glow surround the tower and it contained the destruction.”
The newswoman continued, “This video is not a hoax. Many people saw it actually happen. Neither is the account of the flying man. In fact he is a flying boy! The boy belongs to a private group called the Super Corp. Led by a World War II veteran, the Super Corp using science beyond it’s time to create superhumans, like the ones straight out of the comic books. Today Congress negotiated a contract with the Super Corp. Even though many argued that it is unethical to put three young children in harms way, spokesman Zack Powers argues he has been doing this for five years and very little has been able to phase him. The Super Corp has been working under the radar for years, with a base on a secret private island. But the discovery of this Super Corp has led to two other interesting discoveries.
“The Super Corp members are not the only known superheroes to date. Over the past several years, a phenomenon of what we call ‘real life superheroes’ has swept the nation. Many people have witnessed these costumed crime fighters, who generally have no ‘superpowers’ but help the defenseless in any way they can. The most well known of these is one named Gadgo, who was sanctioned by the US government. He is most well known for his experimental technology that he uses on his missions.
“Also this discovery has opened up to us a world that existed under the radar for years, like something straight out of a comic book. It seems that the Super Corp members are not the only ones with superpowers, but the government has admitted to the existence of super powered mutants. Even though there are dangerous potentials with this new discovery, the President assures that it has been going on for years and secret government departments have detained situations that are beyond real.”
“The government has been working on forging their own superhero, using cutting edge technology.”
Ryan sighed with relief, now that these things were out in the open. Keeping the superhero community a secret had become a burden over the past few months. Still the repercussions of the discovery were detrimental. The President had already begun to enact policies on the superhero phenomenon. On one hand, panic had spread through Washington DC, and now to the world. The society changes would soon become not unlike those after the terrorist attacks in 2001, and the bureacratic red tape would make the jobs of superheroes more difficult. On the other hand the President worked to get the public to accept superheroes. Still there were some that denied the existence of this phenomenon.

*****
Tommy sat in the terminal at the Pulkovo Airport, in Saint Petersburg, watching the news reports. He carried with him a fake passport, and a stolen credit card. He had been a fugitive from his country for about a month now.
The news reports made him concerned about what the world would become. The superheroes were a good thing, but there were also supervillains and monsters to be concerned about. “These are troubling times, are they not, Thomas,” said the stranger sitting next to him.
Tommy sat stunned, not able to refuse the fact.
“A good friend told me that you have mastered 10 different martial arts forms.”
“I've studied every known form.”
“How would you like to go beyond martial arts?”
“Meaning?”
“I'd like to offer you a job.”
“Doing what?”
The stranger moved in close to Tommy, “Well, a little bit of fighting, a little bit of espionage,” he then lowered his voice, “and some assassination.”





Part Two






Chapter 1

New York City, Ground Zero 2002
America is under attack! The wreckage here reminds America of that. What happened here has changed the way people see the world.
Crime runs rampant, and becomes more imaginative every day. The “forces of good” must struggle to keep up. Science helps us for good, and is twisted for evil. Certain things, like nuclear weapons, make us hope they never fall into the wrong hands.
I read about a woman who was murdered in her house, because her husband was the officer who arrested a man years ago. The man swore revenge, and when he got out, he murdered the officer and his family. They say no good deed goes unpunished. That’s why I wear a mask, so the people I care about don’t get hurt.
I stand here at the top of this building. I look over the beautiful concrete jungle, bathed in the sunset light. I carry my mask in one hand and a bungee cable in the other. I’m not sure who I am. It’s the worst feeling to have. I woke up one morning on the street, but I don’t think I belong there, and all memory of my life was gone. No identification, no one recognized me. Most people would want that, to start again, and possibly I did too. Of course I can’t remember if I’d want to forget my past, because I can’t remember it.
I scratched it out on the streets of Manhattan for weeks, and gained a group of friends. But I noticed that I was starting to develop some powers. I started to grow fur all over my body, but I quickly shaved it off. I developed super strength and superhuman senses, especially smell, but my ability to see color diminished. On top of that I grew a tail, which I keep hidden from others. I’ve had several small time jobs, but they have been hard to keep. Eventually, I found work at a fast food place, and met a co-worker whom I am now dating.
I once used my powers to stop a mugging, but the attackers found me, destroyed my home, and hurt my friends who were with me. That’s when I started to wear the mask, last week, in January of 2002.

*****
I had mounted the bungee cable in a secure place. I put on my mask that made me look more dog than human, and my signature crime-fighting coat. I then jumped off the building towards the unsuspecting thugs below. The wind rushed in my face and my tongue stuck out like a dog. It made me smile a bit. Suddenly the thugs looked up and saw me as they walked out of the building.
I landed (using more of my human abilities than my dog ones) and punched the thug closest to me. My claws extended from my second knuckles and I scratched the second thug, while three others escaped. I let out a sonic bark, and pushed the remaining thug against the wall. I heard sirens coming. The high pitch noise was especially clear.
Suddenly, the officers were behind me. “ALRIGHT FREEZE!” they yelled. I had no energy to resist them. “Officers I was just trying to help,” I explained. They didn’t like it. They said they were going to take me down for some questioning.

*****
Police Department, Questioning Room
“I obtained several small times jobs but couldn't keep any because I had no identity or social security,” I explained after telling the detective my life story.
“So why did you start crime fighting?”
“In my time on the streets I’ve witnessed many robberies and muggings, with no cops around to stop them. I believe that it is my responsibility to help if I have the ability, and I have more than the ability.”
The detective started to say something, but the door burst open two figures walked in. The first was a tall man, in his forties, with gray hair. He was dressed in suit and tie. Next to him stood a female, with short dark hair, who was dressed in a suit and tie with a skirt. I could smell the cat scent, not on her (like someone who owns a cat). It was her!
“Special Agent Fred Howell. We have him in our custody. We’ll take it from here, detective.” The detective walked out leaving us three alone. The female took off a skin-like facemask to reveal a cat-like face, complete with fur. “I’ve been watching you for months. I find you to be a very interesting character. So I put out a warrant for your arrest.” Fred explained. He didn’t seem creepy, more like someone who wanted to help.
“Why?” I asked.
“Do you think you are the only one with special powers?” Fred replied.

*****
In the Conference Room at police station
Fred closed the shades to insure privacy. “It seems you’ve been going about this crime fighting the wrong way,” Fred started. He put a brief case on the table and opened it to reveal some nice clothes (a suit and tie), an ID, some official documents, and a rubber facemask. “It’s all in there. Your new address, social security, keys to your car and house, and your current address. You’re a licensed private detective and bounty hunter. You can do freelancing but I suggested you to a small detective agency. I’ll be keeping my eye on you.”

*****
Fred and I sat in the conference room, now with the female agent. “This is Felis,” Fred explained. “I found her back in early September, she was unconscious and floating down a river. I took her in and eventually we learned she had been spliced with animal DNA, cat DNA to be exact. I recommended her for the detective agency I told you about, and they hired her. 
We’ve been working on finding the organization that is responsible for your genetic splicing. I figure you’d be interested in taking the case. So, I’ll offer you the opportunity to take the case with Felis in charge.”

*****
I stood outside the conference room, and approached Felis who was drinking at the water fountain. “Felis,” I started. At that point she whirled around with amazing speed and scratched my face with her dagger claws.
“Calm down, Kitty,” I said.
“You will refer to me as Felis, or I will make your life miserable,” she replied.
“Listen, I am not anxious about hanging out with a cat, but I want to know who I am and where I came from.”
“I’m not thrilled about you being a dog, but I’ve been assigned to this case and I do not quit. I’ll be easy on you, if you behave like a good doggy.” She sat there and teased me in her cruel manner. By nature she had disdain for me, but she wished no harm on me. Her affection was buried in natural rivalry. She continued, “My case is not specifically on the splicing. I have been following a series of purported racial gang wars, sadly I’ve only seen the aftermath of the skirmishes. I have tracked down one alleged crime boss. Word on the street says he’s been ordering from the black market, from one Chester King. Chester has been able to splice different species, but never any animal with humans. Our answers don’t lie there.”

*****
I stood on the street, outside of a large apartment complex. “His name is Abbas Jahadi Harb,” Felis explained. “He is a non-practicing Muslim. Instead of strapping himself to a bomb and threatening people, he is allegedly involved in racketeering, extortion, theft, and black marketing. We haven’t been able to charge him for lack of evidence. He was recently a suspect in the September 11th cases; I’m not quite sure how they let him go for that.”
Suddenly we heard a commotion in the nearby alley. We rushed over to find two Caucasian males beat up an Arabian male, who looked to be no older than eighteen. Felis jumped in with lightning speed and broke up the fight. She pushed the boys back and rushed to the victim. I kind of lagged behind, picked up the attackers, and pushed them against the wall. “They have treated us with violence, and we will return the favor. We make all of their kind pay,” the two thugs yelled.
“You can’t punish an innocent man for what other people did,” I said calmly. “Now I’m going to let you go, and you have better run away and never come back here.” I let go and the thugs ran away.
“Well, it just so happens we saved Abbas’ nephew,” Felis whispered to me.

*****
I stood outside the suspect’s suite with Felis, as they waited for the boy to find his keys. “I am sorry,” he said. “I must have lost them.”
“Step aside,” I said, and began to work on picking the lock with my claw. We ventured into the suite, past the kitchen, into the living space. There were boxes stacked all over the living space, leaving only the couch open. Felis opened one box and we peered inside, only to see it full of high-tech weapons. Suddenly I heard a gun cock. We turned around to see a dark middle-eastern man, with a night-robe on holding a shot gun. “Unless you have a search warrant, you can turn around and walk out the door,” he said.
We backed up and slinked out of the room.

*****
Abbas put the shot gun down, walked over to his phone, picked it up and dialed a number. “The dog-man and cat-girl that you talked about were here. They are onto us. I will not be able to make it to the trade tomorrow. I will send my right hand man.”
“Listen to me,” the voice said. “I control more than ninety percent of America’s organized crime. You will be at the meeting or I will hunt you down. But when you show up, I have a surprise.”



Chapter 2

Early 2003
Michael Redmond drove down the long dirt road in his flashy red Ferrari Testarossa convertable. He drove alone down the road well after mid-night, in the dark, and held a bottle in his hand. It was too dark to make out the markings on the bottle, but I will tell you it was definitely not root beer… or Coke. A grown man in his early thirties, with a kid at home, and he still partied like he was 21. He lived off his effortless successs, rarely ever actually worked, but lived with his father who paid for everything.
He drove down the road of the Amish civilization in the dead of night. He saw a young woman run out in front of him. She was wearing black so it made her hard to distinguish. He tried to swerve but it was too late. For a split second, Michael saw her stare at him like a deer in the headlights. Then she flew backwards on the impact of the car. Michael stopped and got out. He stumbled over to where the dead Amish woman laid. He saw blood, something that he had only seen in movies and comic books, running down the road. He looked to his right, and saw a boy and another Amish lady standing there, staring at him blankly.
Michael immediately got into his car and drove away. His life flashed before his eyes in that moment. He feared for his life and searched desperately for solace from reality.

*****
Island City, SC
Island City Catholic Church
Michael sat in the pews thinking about what he had done. He had been involved in several hit-and-run incidents since he turned 21. The images ran through his mind and the horror overwhelmed him. But last night was the first time he had seen any of the victim’s blood.
It was the last incident that caused him to go seek out religion. He had talked to an old college friend who had become a priest. They started talking about the afterlife and forgiveness, and before he knew it he found himself at confession. As he sat there praying over and over, he became convinced that he needed to repay the world for the crimes he had done. Instead of killing people, he would spend his time saving people and helping them.
Since the first incident he had experienced some extreme guilt. He sent anonymous gifts to the victim’s loved ones. He had always been a big comic book fan, and he owned the one of world’s biggest comic book collections. He often thought of himself as Plastic Man, looking to repay the things he had done. He had tried helping the community in some regular outfits, donating large sums of money to the Church for charity. But this most recent incident caused him a world of guilt. His guilt was mixed with a childish fantasy, to become a superhero. Of course he couldn’t become an actually “super”-hero, but he could become a formidable costumed crime fighter.

*****
The man stood on the ledge of his office building, several stories up. He thought about those dreams that you have where you are falling, and about to fall to your death, and then you wake up. He was about to get that feeling for real. He thought about afterlife, he hoped that it was better than this.
Soon people started to gather below. Those who owned them, pulled out cell phones and called the police. They gaped and pointed at him, some were concerned, some jested, and some stopped merely to see what he would do, as if it was entertainment.

*****
Redmond Estate
Arthur Redmond, Michael's father, wasn’t as wealthy as… say, maybe Bruce Wayne. He owned a company that was rapidly developing some experimental technologies, and the company was slowly budding and become more known. Arthur owned a good amount of land, on a lush green hill, with some nice beach front. He budgeted for a modest little house where he lived with his only son and his grandson, Miles. The whereabouts of his wife were never discussed, but Michael’s wife had taken money and simply left them.
Luke Reed and Michael stared at the helmet sitting on the table. It was like a full face motorcycle helmet, but without the opening in the front. It was covered in jet black tainted glass, unscathed, clean and shiny. It looked like a simple helmet, but underneath it was a technological breakthrough.
Not only did the helmet have advanced comfort inside, but it also contained experimental hardware, which made breakthroughs in reading mental commands on the wearer. It also contained cautionary gadgetry, as well as an infrared scanner.
Michael turned to his good friend and personal assistant, Luke. “Well, you did a great job with this one,” he said as they shook hands. “I’m going to test this one out.”
Luke walked out of the room, and Michael walked to the helmet as if it was the Holy Grail. He picked it up slowly and slipped it over his head. The mechanics inside the helmet clamped down and secured on. It was cool and comfortable inside, a little hard to balance though. He made his way out to the garage, and opened a large crate where he kept his belongings. Inside the box was a jet-board he had borrowed from a friend of his father.
The materials for the helmet were also borrowed. He slipped into a jumpsuit that he had bought himself, made of protective materials that were fireproof, waterproof, and shockproof. He then slipped on his boots and gauntlets, and a utility belt filled with stuff he either borrowed or bought himself.
He then stepped on the jet board, on the foot ports, and the mechanics clamped onto his boots. He then opened the garage door and rocketed out into the air. He flew around at amazing speeds. Michael could feel the air blowing on his jumpsuit. He flew towards the bustling parts of the city and noticed a commotion below.

*****
The man on the ledge thought about turning around, and then he thought about all the pain he had been through. It was so easy to just end it; it could even now be an accident. Suddenly he had a change of heart. He wanted to turn around, quit his job, and start a new life. But it was too late. He tried hard not to fall, but he could not conceive trying to climb back in the window. Even so, he made his way back, but as he tried to get inside, he fell.
For a few seconds he could feel the wind rush in his face, as he closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure if he should fear, I mean, this was what he was going to do. Suddenly something grabbed him and all the confusion dissipated. He felt relieved as he looked up and saw a man in a helmet carrying him. They landed on the ground, where the masked hero dropped him off, and then flew away on his jet board. It all happened so fast that the onlookers barely saw it.

*****
Michael had no intention of becoming a crime fighter and administering justice. He hoped only to save lives. As he was flying along he noticed smoke coming from a building. He landed his board in an alley and looked for an entrance, eventually finding the back door. He melted off the handle with a laser mounted to his gauntlet, and then busted through the door.
He ran through the flames, unharmed. He heard coughing somewhere in the building and followed the sound. He broke down another door, and ran through looking around for any sign of life. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a couple of fire extinguishing pellets that Luke had made. He threw them down and put out some of the fire. He found the victim, and got him out of the house by smashing a window.
He scanned the area using his infrared scanner. He saw one more victim, and rushed to him. He pulled out a disposable breather and put it over the victim’s face. Michael then walked the man out the back door.

*****
Redmond Residence
Michael sat and cleaned off the helmet, after he had cleaned off the jet-board. He polished the helmet until it shined like it was new. He had borrowed the jet board to test how it handled with the cybernetic technology. It was due back in a week, with his report, and so far it was still intact. It handled like a dream.
Of course he didn’t plan to give the board back. The man who owned it was insanely wealthy and a good friend of Michael. Michael knew that if he took it for a pleasure ride, and “accidentally” broke it, he would only need to hand in his review and a blueprint for an upgrade of the board. He started Luke on the upgrade right away.
Right then his son, Miles, walked in. Miles was 11 years old, but he was an extremely smart individual. His brains were mostly from his mother, but he was an engineering and inventive genius like his father. Miles stood there and stared at his father who had finished putting away his “toys” just before he came in. Michael then looked at his kid in the eye for a silent moment.
“Need help with math or something?” Michael asked.
“No,” Miles replied.
“Well, what is it?”
“Do you wanna play catch?”
Michael stood in shock for a moment. They used to be one happy family. Before Miles started school he spent all day with his father, and his mom was around too. Nowadays Michael spent his days designing new inventions with Luke. Miles would come home after school, and they would be home together for an hour, before Michael left for evening “engagements”. That one hour was mostly spent separated. Miles had taken interest in programming and building his own inventions from junk.
Michael walked outside with baseball gloves and a baseball, his son in tow. They walked all the way down the hill (where there house sat), down the rocks, to the beach front. They just sat there and played catch for about an hour. Suddenly Michael heard someone calling for help. He looked into the ocean and saw someone drifting away. Michael sprung into action. He handed his cell phone to Miles, “Call Luke, tell him to bring my suit case.”
Michael swam out into the ocean and grabbed the drifter, and began to bring him back to shore. As he got back Luke was approaching with the suitcase. “She’s back there!” the victim claimed.
“OK,” Michael said, as Miles and Luke approached. “Go to the shack and take care of him.” Luke then carried the stranger to the shack that Arthur had built, just around the rocks, where they hung out at the beach and kept their food and first aid. Miles followed him. Michael ran the other way, into a small cave, and when they were out of sight he put on his jumpsuit, helmet, boots, and gauntlets, and then ran off into the water. He dove in the water head first and the boots had propellers on the bottom, which propelled him forward at ample speed. He used his infrared to look for any human life. He breathed through invisible slots in the helmet that extracted air from the water.
He saw a woman in the distance (on the ocean floor) who was struggling to get up. He swam over to her and handed her a disposable breather. He tried to pull her up, but noticed her foot was struck between some debris and rock. He pulled out his portable jaws of life, and used them to separate the debris and free her. He then held her close and rose to the surface slowly. He used mental commands to call the jet board over. He then put her on the jet board and sent her to shore. He swam to shore, got out of his superhero garb, and walked to the lady who had apparently passed out after reaching the shore.
As he picked her up he noticed something. He carried her in his arms back to the shack. He opened the door by kicking it, walked in, and placed the woman on the table. “Come here,” he said. Miles and Luke gathered in disbelief.
Miles spoke for all of them. “It’s mom…”



Chapter 3

It was September of 2003. Island City was in the midst of an intense evacuation as Hurricane Isabel was rushing towards the island. The wind and rain began to pick up as rescue personnel combed the streets. All the vehicles (and a majority of people) were off the island, and sea of red brake-lights flooded the bridge to the mainland and as far down the evacuation route as the eye could see.
Michael Redmond was fixing his jet board at Redmond Estate. The estate was on a hill, and the mansion was built to survive the fierce winds. So the mansion was the safest place on the island, but Michael wasn't concerned for his safety. When Michael was finished he put on his Gadgo-suit, jumped on the jet board, and rocketed away. Michael had spent the past year acting as Island City’s mysterious rescuer, codename: Gadgo. The police scanner had informed him of an ongoing search for a little girl who was last seen on the beach, which was already covered in water. The rising tide and flood waters filled the caves on the beach front, so Gadgo jumped off the board and switched to submarine mode. He attached a grapple line to the rocks above the surface and maneuvered into one of the flooded caverns. The helmet’s infrared scanners picked up a human figure in the distance, and Gadgo doubled his speed to go get her. He put a breathing device in her mouth and then reeled himself back to the surface while carrying the girl.

*****
A rescue boat approached the shore with two divers out to look for the girl. To their surprise they watched her rise up to the surface with a mysterious man in a black helmet. They pulled her up on the boat, and started to tend to her, but when they turned back to thank the hero, he was gone.

*****
A family sat in their driveway, late in the evacuation, their engine stalled and no one was around to give them a jump. The dad stood outside, drenched from the downpour, frozen stiff and unsure of what to do. Gadgo came around the corner and walked into the driveway, surprising the man and his family even more. In his hands he carried two jumper cables. He connected the clamps to the terminals of the dead car’s battery, and attached the other ends to the terminals on the miniature super-battery on his utility belt. Suddenly the battery began to glow and the car’s engine revved up. The thankful man got in his car and drove away.
With no power in his suit, Gadgo used his remote to call down his jet board and flew away, following the evacuating traffic.

*****
Gadgo flew over Island City after the hurricane had passed through the island. The town was in shambles from the monstrous storm, cold dark and empty from the evacuation. Buildings were reduced to nothing by the waves and wind. On the north-eastern corner of the island Redmond Mansion still stood on the hill of Redmond Estate, but the windows were shattered.
Gadgo swooped in through a shattered window and landed on the living room floor, which was covered in glass. A draft swept through the house and the walls echoed back as he called out “Dad!” He had tried to contact his father to make sure that he had made it safely to shelter. When he couldn’t get in touch he turned around.
He found a note, left on the coffee table. The note simply listed a place and an amount of money to leave. His father had been kidnapped for ransom.

****
Gadgo wasn’t about to give in to some thug. He deduced that a common criminal had seen his chance and executed on a whim. The evacuation left no witnesses, and his father never had body guards. It was easy to locate Arthur, who had several tracking devices planted on him.
Gadgo ran across the rafters in the warehouse as he saw his father below, held at gunpoint by a man dressed in street clothes. Gadgo leapt forward to assault the perpetrator, who turned around as a shot rang through the air. The trigger was pulled as a nervous reflex, but then the kidnapper fired several voluntary shots at Gadgo. Gadgo landed next to the man and grabbed his gun. The kidnapper threw a punch, which hit Gadgo’s helmet, busting his fist.
Gadgo took a swing at the thug, who ducked and returned a blow to our hero’s stomach. Gadgo grabbed the thugs head, and bashed it against his helmet. The victor took some rope out of his utility belt and tied up the sleeping thug.

*****
Commissioner William Reed stood outside the warehouse with several patrol cars surrounding it, red and blue lights flashing. The kidnapper was handcuffed and stuffed into one of the vehicles.
The Commissioner turned towards Gadgo, who was watching the wounded Arthur Redmond being wheeled away on a gurney into an ambulance. Reed had never seen Gadgo before in person, who looked more ridiculous (like a child playing dress up) than the glorified town hero he imagined.
The shot from the gun had given Arthur head trauma, and now he was comatose. At this point Gadgo realized that he could do so much more by expanding his career beyond saving people from perils. He decided to use his resources to become a proactive crime-fighter, and do a lot of good in the world.
Commissioner Reed approached Gadgo, “I saw what you did, and I think you could be a valuable asset to our Force,” grabbing the attention of the Helmeted Adventurer. He continued, “We’ve received several threats from a ‘Society of Terrorists’ and I’ve been looking for a specialist to help us with this and other advanced threats.
Gadgo smiled under his helmet. “I’m listening.”

###
The Adventures Will Continue
So Watch Out For More Stories from the NOVUS Universe Coming Soon.

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