《The Bannister Line》 Chapter 1 Gene touched his fingers to the bullet holes in his chest. He scratched around one of them absentmindedly as he looked back up at the mugger holding the still-smoking pistol. ¡°Man,¡± Gene said. ¡°Now I¡¯m gonna have to get a new shirt.¡± The mugger turned to run, terrified by what could only be a zombie talking to him, but Gene had already reached out and grabbed the tail of his shirt. As he pulled the thug to the ground, he pulled a taser out of his pocket and fired it at the scrambling mugger. In a few seconds, he was unconscious and sprawled on the pavement, ready for the police to pick him up. Unfortunately, Gene knew that he couldn¡¯t be around for that, and quickly scooped up the wallet and phone taken from the older man who had been standing to the side watching this strange confrontation and handed them to him with a smile. After the man thanked him and Gene had assured the worried pedestrian that he wasn¡¯t hurt, he turned and ran down the alley, turning a corner and disappearing beyond the streetlight¡¯s reach. After he had made it past a few buildings, he stopped to check on his wounds. They had already completely healed up, just as he expected, but there were still holes surrounded by bloodstains on the front and back of his shirt. He frowned and kept walking until he reached a fire escape and started to climb. When he reached the top, he sat down next to the black-haired girl who already had her legs hanging over the side of the building. ¡°Jeez, man did you get shot again?¡± she asked, when Gene had sat down. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to get a new shirt, y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± Gene said. He smiled in spite of the blood drying on the logo of his shirt. ¡°We really might need to spring for the bulletproof stuff this time, Kat.¡± She smiled back at him. They both knew that they¡¯d had this conversation before, and they would probably have it again. Being a semi-legal vigilante wasn¡¯t exactly prolific work, besides the occasional bill from grateful old ladies, and buying custom uniforms that were made of anything but ¡®100% cotton¡¯ was usually out of the price range. It was getting late, and the lights of the squad car arriving to pick up the would-be mugger -still spread across the sidewalk- mingled with the deep oranges and yellows of the evening sky to create a purplish wash across the buildings lining the quiet street-. The two of them watched in silence as the police picked up the unconscious felon and loaded him into the back seat of the car. Before the sun had fully set, Gene and Kat climbed down the fire escape and started to walk back to campus. They arrived at the entrance to the Veracruz University campus after about an hour¡¯s walk. It was fully dark outside now, but there wasn¡¯t much reason for two superpowered individuals to be afraid of walking through D.C. after nightfall. And beyond that, there were always some other vigilantes that they were acquainted with who would likely be on patrol in this part of the city. ¡°Maybe next time, some thief will be kind enough to not bring any guns with him¡± Gene said, giving Kat a smile. Her powers couldn¡¯t stop her from getting hurt, so she needed to be a little more creative in dangerous situations.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Yeah, yeah. Maybe, but I really don¡¯t mind leaving the armed ones to you. Besides, the taser I ordered must¡¯ve gotten lost in the mail, so I think I¡¯ll wait for that advantage before I step in without backup.¡± She walked a few steps toward her dorm and then spun around quickly to call out to Gene, who was also walking away. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t forget that we¡¯ve got training tomorrow!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± He shouted back, and turned down the path to his building. When they had each reached their own dorms, they fell asleep almost immediately. Even though they had powers, balancing fighting criminals and keeping up with schoolwork was still physically exhausting. Gene¡¯s alarm went off at 6:30, causing him to roll out of his small dorm bed and knock into the bedside table that held his clock. After he had snoozed the alarm, he looked down and saw that he was still wearing the same clothes that he had been in last night- his homemade superhero costume. Glad that Robbie¡¯s still out of town, or there would have been some awkward questions to answer, Gene thought to himself. Robbie, his roommate, often left the campus on the weekends and stayed with his family farther away from the city. That worked out fine for Gene, who usually worked his streets with Kat on Friday and Saturday nights. Once Gene had showered off the dried blood from the previous night, he put his costume back on, this time with a jacket zipped over it to hide it from anyone who might have been walking around campus that morning. He left his dorm, and walked across campus to wait at the bus stop for Kat, who was probably getting breakfast before that morning¡¯s training like she normally did. She arrived a few minutes later than usual with a baggy gray hoodie hiding her own costume. ¡°Hey, sorry I¡¯m late- but did you see the news this morning?¡± When Gene shook his head no, Kat fished around in the big front pocket of her hoodie and pulled out her phone. She typed something into her browser, and sat down on the bus stop bench next to him. A news report from just a few minutes ago started playing, showing a superpowered battle taking place over the rooftops of downtown D.C., a crackling yellow flash striking against a shifting shield of some invisible energy. The yellow object backed up, suspended in the air by chains of lightning reaching out to the lightning rods of nearby buildings. ¡°That¡¯s Dynamo, it¡¯s gotta be! She¡¯s the only hero near here that can pump out that much electricity for so long.¡± Kat was pointing at the screen excitedly, covering some parts of the battle. ¡°But do you recognize that other guy? It doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s really attacking, but his shield isn¡¯t letting anything through. I can¡¯t make out any costumes from so far.¡± Gene leaned in close to the phone¡¯s screen and traced around the aura surrounding the mystery villain with his finger. ¡°Her lightning is going around his shield and dissipating at the back of it. I don¡¯t think this guy is some kind of psychic or has any absorbing powers, it just looks like he can make a really strong barrier of magnetic energy.¡± Gene had gotten better at telling exactly what was happening in superpowered fights- an important skill in his line of work, because a quick I.D. of what you¡¯re dealing with could be all that keeps you from getting killed. The bus had arrived as they were talking, letting the students returning from the night shift off, and letting Gene, Kat and the other students at the stop on. The two of them continued to hover over Kat¡¯s phone and discuss the recorded battle until they reached their stop and got off the bus. The gym they trained at was only a few buildings down from the bus stop, and it only took them a minute to walk down to it. But, when they reached the gym, all that greeted them was a locked door on a dark building. ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± Kat said. ¡°We moved training to tonight. Well, we¡¯ve got twelve hours to kill. Wanna get another breakfast?¡± Chapter 2 They wasted a few hours in stores and cafes, but quickly found that there wasn¡¯t enough to do nearby to keep them busy until nighttime. The two of them were sitting on a park bench when Kat was struck by an idea. ¡°Why didn¡¯t we think of this already?¡± Gene sat up quickly and pulled his old, grey beanie from over his eyes. ¡°What? You could have just told me. You don¡¯t have to punch me all the time.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, shut up,¡± She was digging through the duffel bag she had brought with her. ¡°Think about it- we¡¯ve got time, we¡¯ve got our costumes, and we¡¯ve got nothing to do.¡± ¡°Oh, I see what you¡¯re saying.¡± Gene grinned. ¡°We really should have thought of that sooner.¡± They ran off to the public restrooms at the park to change fully into their costumes without being seen. After a minute, they both ran out, fully clad in their dark-colored suits and masks. ¡°Well, where do you think we should head first? We¡¯ve still got like ten hours before training actually starts, so we can cover a lot of ground.¡± Gene asked, his bag slung over his back, covering some of the holes from the previous night. ¡°If we find a rooftop with a good vantage point, we can just wait there until we spot some crimes taking place. Or, preferably, about to take place.¡± Kat smiled as she walked with Gene to a fire escape on the side of a municipal building. They had found out that this was the easiest and safest way of getting to where they could see over a large area in a city, even if it seemed a little less glamorous than one would expect of superheroes. In fact, there were many aspects of being a superhero that didn¡¯t seem as dazzling from the inside- not the least of which was the origin. Many superheroes had grandiose stories behind how they got their powers, and, whether they were true or not, they were certainly interesting. Vivaman, one of the premier international heroes, gained versatile energy powers in an accident involving a super-concentrated vitamin compound at one of his company¡¯s labs. Dynamo had been given a containment suit to concentrate her electrical abilities by a spacefaring alien adventurer. Even some low-level vigilantes that Kat and Gene knew personally had wild origin stories. Kat¡¯s roommate at college, Maria, had been captured by deep-earth dwelling creatures and used a magical crystal that turned her to stone to escape. However, the two of them shared a story that was less than glamorous from their perspective. Almost a year ago, they had been walking through this same part of town when an alien warlord new to Earth had begun a rampage over a misunderstanding, sending clouds of gas rolling out from his body. These mixed gases had a number of dangerous qualities, which Kat and Gene got to experience firsthand. Neither of them was paying much attention to the furious being screaming in the intersection, so it came as a complete surprise to Gene when his nervous system completely shut down, and to Kat when all of her internal organs were burned away. They later learned from the much calmer warlord that his grasp of Earth languages was shaky at best, and when he had found that no insult was intended from the barista, he felt terrible about the whole scene. He rushed everyone harmed by the gases to his flagship¡¯s lab and repaired them with advanced technology. However, Gene and Kat¡¯s injuries required a different approach.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. The warlord had gathered genetic information of many different now-extinct alien species throughout his travels, and had a DNA bank in his medical lab. He used this bank to introduce alien biology safely into their bodies. Gene¡¯s nervous system was replaced with a network of self-repairing nerves that could shut off at will, blocking any pain and re-growing entire limbs in seconds. Kat¡¯s intestines had been replaced by a single, all-purpose alien organ from a long dead species of aquatic creatures, allowing her to eat and digest any known material and convert all of what she ate into a more efficient form of energy, or anything her body needed, without wasting any part of it. After the two of them had sat looking over the edge of the building for a couple of hours, they had stopped a few petty crimes and potential muggings, but hadn¡¯t gotten any of the supervillain action that they had been hoping for. Gene was listening to a police scanner app with one earbud, and Kat was sitting in the middle of discarded takeout containers trying to pick up rocks and bits of metal with chopsticks. Suddenly, the sound of an explosion echoing down the street jarred them from their important work, and they both scrambled over to the side of the roof to try and see where the sound had come from. A couple of blocks away, a smoldering hole was left in an office building, only big enough to let the fall afternoon breeze into the cubicles, although that probably wasn¡¯t the intention of whatever caused it. As Kat and Gene watched, a missile streamed through the air, arcing up fifty feet into the air, and landing on top of several cars parked on the side of the street. ¡°This is exactly what we were waiting for,¡± Kat said, hopping over the side of the roof onto the fire escape. Gene was right behind her, and they started running down the street, taking the shortest path to the location of whatever was firing those missiles. They turned one last corner before a bright yellow streak nearly knocked them off their feet and caused their hair to stand on end. Kat stomped on the pavement for a minute. ¡°It feels like my feet fell asleep,¡± She explained to Gene, ¡°You probably can¡¯t feel it, but I think there was a lot of electricity packed into whatever just passed us.¡± She was right that Gene didn¡¯t feel anything, but he definitely saw the light beam past them. ¡°Electricity, huh? That was headed in the opposite direction of the missiles, so could that mean-?¡± Kat gasped and ran out into the street to look. ¡°Oh man. Oh man, it is!¡± She dragged Gene out so that he could see, and pointed in the direction that the electric wave went. A figure was floating, suspended by fingers of white-yellow lightning and covered by dark gray body armor, crackling with power. ¡°It¡¯s really Dynamo!¡± Chapter 3 The light in the chest of Dynamo¡¯s suit was almost blinding, showing that she had built up a huge supply of electric energy, and was ready to use it. She stretched her arms out to the side crackling bolts running down their length. Normally, she would have liked to stretch before she ran across a city, but this was alright too. Giant robots were something of a specialty for her. If there was a single entry point in their armor, her power would find it and fry all of the finely tuned circuits inside. The electricity was jumping between her fingers now, begging to be released into an unsuspecting villain, and Dynamo was happy to comply. Still hanging in the air, she slammed her arms together in front of her, creating a huge thunderclap and a sword-like flash of concentrated lightning. The ear-shattering blast echoed for a mile around, and the beam of energy pierced straight through the hulking robot. She got a good look at it for the first time as it reeled from the hit- it must have been more than 20 feet tall, a humanoid shape made of an impact resistant supermaterial, and designed to resemble a knight in a bucket helmet and plate armor. After the electricity still in the air had dissipated, the robot stood still in the position it had been in when struck. Dynamo smiled, content with another job well done and another potential disaster stopped. She was on the ground again, having spent more electricity than she needed to stay afloat, and began to walk away, ready to sign autographs and take pictures with the bystanders and small-time heroes who always seemed to gather at sites like this. It was a little bit of an indulgence on her part. She knew it wasn¡¯t exactly encouraged by whatever vague government agency monitored the superheroics that week, but she always enjoyed engaging with the paparazzi when an operation went particularly well, like this one. Here, a couple of teenagers were pointing at her, all excited over what they had seen. Who wouldn¡¯t be? Thought Dynamo, putting on her best superhero smile and preparing to be bombarded with questions. But, the two kids kept pointing at her as she got closer. Their mouths were open, shouting something. Her ears were still ringing from being right in the center of a massive thunderclap, and she couldn¡¯t hear anything they were trying to say. Oh well, she consoled herself. They¡¯ve probably never seen something as exciting as a giant robot being taken down by a famous hero. * * * ¡°Turn around!¡± Gene and Kat were both yelling at the top of their lungs for Dynamo to turn and look at what was coming up behind her. They pointed and screamed, but she didn¡¯t seem to care. Their ears were still ringing from the massive blast that had staggered the robot, but Dynamo seemed to be completely deaf, and wasn¡¯t even trying to figure out what they were saying to her. A metal foot the size of a refrigerator was poised above Dynamo, its owner calculating where exactly to strike. That thunder and lightning move had slowed it down, but it rebooted a few seconds after she had turned her back and started using its fried systems to exact its revenge. Since she couldn¡¯t hear the groaning servos lifting the massive foot, she didn¡¯t bother to turn around. She was approaching the two of them and saying some platitude about heroism, but there were only seconds before she would be crushed to death, and they couldn¡¯t waste time listening. Gene jumped over some shattered pavement and tackled Dynamo at full speed. She was flung away, not expecting that kind of response from a fan, and landed squarely on her back. As for Gene, he landed on his front, splayed out in the street. The robot had apparently already made its decision, and its foot dropped. * * *This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. When Gene¡¯s brain was knit back together enough to process sight, he realized that he was looking at the rough pavement. His memories quickly rushed back, and he remembered what had happened to get him there, and when he had most of his bones and muscles back, he pushed himself up and looked around. There was smoking wreckage of the robot that must have crushed him all over the street, and someone had moved the now-severed foot off him to give him space to regenerate. There was police tape all around the wreckage, and emergency vehicles were still parked all around, showing Gene that he couldn¡¯t have been out for too long. He noticed a group of police officers speaking with Dynamo and some other heroes. They must have shown up later to really take down the robot, Gene thought. There were some pretty big names in this huddle; besides Dynamo, there was Yokozuna, the sumo wrestler who had mythic powers given to him by a magical artifact, and Vivaman, the CEO of a multinational pharmaceutical company who had gained access to a form of bio-energy by one of his own experimental vitamin compounds. Gene would have been excited to see them, had they arrived earlier. Now, he was determined to stagger over and give them a piece of his mind. However, the heroes noticed him before he could make it all the way over. ¡°Ooh, you¡¯re not looking so great, kid,¡± said Dynamo with a grin, and tossed a towel in his direction. Gene tried to swing an arm up to grab it, but it seemed he didn¡¯t have those tendons yet. The towel landed on his shoulder and fell onto the ground. He was really fuming now, even if he couldn¡¯t quite express it on his face. How could Dynamo be so flippant with someone who had just appeared to die saving her life? Just as he was wondering this, Gene saw Kat standing in the group of popular heroes, smiling at him. She must have caught them up, he thought, still a little bitter about the whole ordeal. He bent over and picked up the towel to wipe off some of the not-quite healed spots. ¡°Thanks. So, uh, why did so many big names show up for a fight like this? I figured Dynamo could probably handle it by herself, if she wasn¡¯t- y¡¯know.¡± Dynamo¡¯s grin widened. ¡°Crushed into pulp?¡± she asked, and laughed. ¡°Yeah, you really saved my hide back there. That thing was a little trickier than it looked, so I called in backup.¡± She threw a thumb back to the gathered heroes. The three of them weren¡¯t exactly a team, but were known to work together and balance each other out well. Seeing all three of them together was rare, though, because they usually only gathered in public to prevent some world-threatening disaster or governmental coup. That realization made Gene a little uneasy. Kat pushed through the gathered heroes to where Gene was standing, and started filling him in on what he had missed while he was unconscious. ¡°Oh man, you should have been there- well, you were there, but- you should have seen it! As soon as you got crushed, Dynamo freaked out and called these guys,¡± She gestured to Yokozuna and Vivaman, who seemed a little bit uncomfortable with the small-time heroes getting up in their business. Dynamo stiffened slightly and spoke up. ¡°I didn¡¯t freak out! Heroes don¡¯t freak out. I realized that the fight would be too much for the present forces to handle, so I just called for some assistance.¡± A police officer holding a clipboard interrupted their conversation, asking Dynamo over to a cruiser to answer some questions about the fight. Even a hero who was monitored and officiated by the government needed to follow procedures once they had done the exciting part of their job. Kat walked Gene away from the group of heroes, and said, ¡°This is great- we finally get to network with some real heroes! We¡¯ll be moving up their social ladder faster than¡­ Dynamo, I guess. Faster than she runs. That was a bad analogy, but whatever. This is where we start to hit the big time!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Gene said, ¡°but I¡¯m sure that they¡¯ll remember that we saved one of their lives.¡± Gene smiled with that thought. Even though it didn¡¯t hurt him, being crushed alive wasn¡¯t exactly fun, and he wouldn¡¯t want to do it for no reason. Seeing something good come from this ordeal made him grateful they had responded to so many emergencies in the past, preparing them for this one. ¡°Hey, kids,¡± called Dynamo from the blockade of police cars, ¡°wanna come over here and fill out some incident reports, like real heroes?¡± Gene and Kat both gasped, shocked and delighted more than they thought they would be to do such a mundane task, and raced over to do their duty as heroes. Chapter 4 Training was cancelled because of all the excitement earlier that day, and both Kat and Gene were thankful for that. After filling out paperwork for the better part of an hour, the three pros let them tag along to an event at the Smithsonian Museum of American Heroics. An informal mixer welcoming superheroes from many countries around the world, leading up to a week of conferences and events for them, was open throughout the day to all official heroes. Yokozuna, Vivaman, and Dynamo were able to use their influence to get Kat and Gene in as guests for a couple hours, and they were able to meet many of the attending heroes, local and international. Wildcat, the mystical ¡®Living Sandstorm¡¯ of the Central American deserts, was there, as was the solitary Totem, who was trying to figure out how to drink a cup of punch without removing one of her carved Tiki masks. Flyboy was talking to The Bullet about his Air Force adventures. To the surprise of the two unofficial guests, many of the present heroes had heard of them, if only from the fight earlier that day. After the security guards started to get suspicious, Dynamo took them aside and thanked them again for their help. ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea that you two might like- you¡¯ll get some information soon. But, in the meanwhile, feel free to reach out to any of us if you run into anything too big for you to handle.¡± She handed Gene a USB drive with the symbol of the Department of Superpowered Affairs emblazoned on it. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anybody.¡± She winked conspiratorially and pushed them out of a side door. With the flash drive in hand, the two of them dashed out of the restricted area they found themselves in, and took a bus back to Veracruz University. * * * That night, Laura Teller put her feet up after a long day of being Dynamo. Today was especially tiring, having included more giant robots, paperwork, formal events, and tag-along kids than she usually preferred. But she was happy as long as she could sit back and enjoy a cigarette and some mindless television, which she planned to start doing right that moment. She pointed a finger at the TV on her apartment wall and an arc of electricity connected it with her power. The TV came to life, and Laura pulled a cigarette out of the pack on her coffee table. She pinched an end between her still-cracking fingers and lit it with the electrical heat. Just as she was ready to enjoy a much-deserved night in, Laura¡¯s phone buzzed next to the near-empty pack of cigarettes. She groaned and leaned forward to see who would decide to do something as dangerous to them as calling her on a Saturday night. Her eyes widened when she saw the screen. The number wasn¡¯t saved in her phone, but she recognized it anyway. She scrambled to pick up, and extinguished the burning cigarette on the stained table.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Hey, did you¡­ need something?¡± she asked, nervous even before she heard the voice at the other end of the line. ¡°You don¡¯t usually call out of nowhere like this, is all.¡± There were a few seconds of silence from the phone¡¯s speaker, until a low male voice with a heavy Mexican accent said, ¡°I didn¡¯t need anything. You know that I only call to make sure that you have everything that you need.¡± Dynamo gulped, but tried to make her voice sound confident. ¡°Well, yeah, of course. I¡­ I just figured that if you¡­ nevermind. No, I don¡¯t need anything right now.¡± More silence from the phone. The voice suddenly boomed, leaving no trace of it¡¯s gentle softness from before, ¡°Then what happened today? How can you explain that display downtown? You know that I¡¯ll keep you supplied with what you need, but you have to keep up your end of the bargain!¡± Laura winced, placing a hand over the phone¡¯s speaker. She hated when he did that. He was a pain to deal with, but she needed what his business supplied, so she had to put up with him. ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry, those kids, they got in the way. I¡¯ll take a hit every now and then, but I can¡¯t help what other people do! It was just a wild happenstance, and besides,¡± she said, looking at her computer monitor on the sofa, ¡°I¡¯m keeping an eye on them now.¡± ¡°Good.¡± The voice coming from the phone was back, seamlessly, to its original composition. ¡°Make sure that something like that doesn¡¯t happen again.¡± She opened her mouth to speak again, but the caller hung up before she had the chance. ¡°I will,¡± she said, and sat back down. But now, she was unable to relax at all. * * * Later that same night, an official-looking man with both arms full of loose papers and folders frantically burst into a room far below the surface of the city. A group of other well-dressed officials looked sharply at him, and he quickly composed himself and took his seat, the only one left empty. Everyone turned their attention back to the person at the head of the table as the latecomer tried to quietly arrange his papers on the long table in front of him. ¡°Well, now that we¡¯re all here,¡± said the stern figure standing at the head of the table pointedly, ¡°we can proceed with the meeting. Mr. Palmer, would you please present your research to the Board?¡± The latecomer, Terrence Palmer, stood quickly and gathered a handful of the folders he had brought with him. ¡°Of course, Mr. Burroughs. I¡¯m sure that all of us know what we¡¯re here to discuss tonight.¡± His confidence grew as he fell into the familiar words of his presentation. He had been waiting to present his information to the Board for months, and he wasn¡¯t going to let mere nerves ruin his chance. ¡°We all want to know one thing- just what is the Bannister Line?¡± Chapter 5 When Monday classes had ended for both of them, Kat and Gene found an excuse to ditch each of their roommates. They met up in the student center and found a corner without too many prying eyes. Gene pulled his laptop out of his backpack and plugged it in, before pulling out the USB drive that Dynamo had given them. ¡°Alright,¡± he said, ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s on this thing.¡± He inserted the drive into the laptop, and a small LED light at the center of the Department of Superpowered Affairs symbol lit up as a window opened on the screen. Kat grinned excitedly at Gene as he clicked a folder in the window, which opened to reveal a long list of files in alphabetical order, each with the name of a well-known superpowered individual denoting its contents. ¡°Oh, wow,¡± Kat breathed, clicking through the files, ¡°This is perfect for us! There¡¯s so much info on all of these heroes- and villains! Every villain I¡¯ve ever seen on the news, online, or even in real life! There¡¯re people I¡¯ve never even heard of in here- like this guy! Look at his dumb name.¡± She pointed to the screen, her finger landing on the name ¡®Murdercycle¡¯. Gene hadn¡¯t heard of this villain either, despite both he and Kat following heroic news pretty closely. Kat double-clicked on Murdercycle, but instead of the file opening, a notification popped up on the screen. ¡°¡¯Insufficient DSA access level,¡¯¡± Gene read aloud. ¡°¡¯Must have DSA access level 2.¡¯ Alright, I guess we don¡¯t have unlimited superhero knowledge, but I¡¯m sure some of these¡¯ll work.¡± Over the next half hour, Kat and Gene found out just how not-unlimited their superhero knowledge was. Over three quarters of the heroes and villains were locked off from them, including Dynamo herself. Once they had clicked through each file, Kat slammed the pen she was using down onto the table. ¡°Finally!¡± she exclaimed, too loud for the student center they had been working in. Heads turned in their direction, and Kat ducked back behind the laptop before saying, ¡°Finally,¡± again, but quieter. ¡°We¡¯ve got a list of everyone we have access to. Most of them are¡­ pretty disappointing.¡± She handed a graded test on the back of which she had written the list to Gene, and he read over it quickly. ¡°Blowtorch, Magpie, Rock Candy¡­ that¡¯s Maria, right?¡± Kat nodded and motioned for him to continue. She had known about her roommate¡¯s vigilante moonlighting for a while, and it was only interesting to her now if there was a teamup involved. ¡°Ok, we¡¯ve also got Siren, Eldrich- I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not spelled right- Gremlin, Miss Demeanor¡­ and a handful of other D-listers I¡¯ve never heard of.¡± ¡°Well, I won¡¯t say that I¡¯m not disappointed,¡± Kat sighed, ¡°but this information might still come in handy. I¡¯ve heard of Siren, and we almost fought Miss Demeanor that one time, remember?¡± Gene smiled at the memory of one of the first times the two of them had faced a superpowered enemy, but was distracted from his thoughts by his laptop notifying him of a new email. He opened it and saw that it was from a seemingly random email address, but the subject line was what really caught his attention. The sender of the message claimed to be Dynamo. He hurriedly read the email, while Kat read it over his shoulder with just as much interest, and they both gasped aloud when they reached the end. ¡®Hey kid, there¡¯s a program starting up in the DSA that I think you and your friend might be interested in. At its most basic level it¡¯s a training program for young people like yourself with superpowers. The idea is that if we can give the next generation of superpowered individuals quality training, then they¡¯re more likely to use their abilities responsibly, and more effectively. It¡¯s a couple of months long, but we¡¯re willing to pull all the participants out of school if they can start immediately. The DSA will be handling all of the fuss of getting you out of classes if you accept as soon as possible, so let me know by opening the attached file if you¡¯re up for it. I want to warn you, though: this isn¡¯t meant to be anywhere near easy. It¡¯ll be more like boot camp than college, but if you think you¡¯ve got what it takes, we¡¯re accepting all applicants. Only open that file if you can commit, though. And, off the record, I think the two of you can pull it off if you try. -Dynamo¡¯ * * * Laura sat at her desk, working halfheartedly on her computer. Professional heroes were provided with government jobs as cover, but weren¡¯t really obligated to do much. She¡¯d get a paycheck either way, so she wasn¡¯t particularly interested in doing her IT duties if she didn¡¯t have to. As she typed away without accomplishing much, her phone buzzed. She picked it up, and saw that she had received a notification she had set up for herself. Someone had responded to her recruitment email- and she had only sent it out a few minutes ago. The file she had included was a program she wrote made to let her know when someone opened it, and who they were. Doing anything with electronics was simple for her, even down to something as fine as coding. It was all controlled by electronic signals, and therefore it was controlled by her. Laura could finish her day¡¯s IT work and be done with it, but she just didn¡¯t feel like doing it. When she checked to see who it was that had accepted the request, she smiled wryly. Gene Simon, and, by proxy, Kat Starling had opened the file. Vivaman owed her five bucks. * * * Meanwhile, Terrence Palmer sat at his own desk, much more spacious than the one he had mere days ago. He had gotten a well-deserved promotion thanks to his extensive research into the effects of the Bannister Line, and he didn¡¯t intend to stop there. The Bannister Line theory had been his crowning achievement- the idea that once a human had done something previously unachieved once, it became significantly easier for another human to achieve it, then another, and another, until it became commonplace. Named after Roger Bannister, a former Olympian athlete who was the first person to break the four-minute mile. Only 46 days later, someone else broke his record. Now, almost 1,500 runnersThe tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. When Monday classes had ended for both of them, Kat and Gene found an excuse to ditch each of their roommates. They met up in the student center and found a corner without too many prying eyes. Gene pulled his laptop out of his backpack and plugged it in, before pulling out the USB drive that Dynamo had given them. ¡°Alright,¡± he said, ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s on this thing.¡± He inserted the drive into the laptop, and a small LED light at the center of the Department of Superpowered Affairs symbol lit up as a window opened on the screen. Kat grinned excitedly at Gene as he clicked a folder in the window, which opened to reveal a long list of files in alphabetical order, each with the name of a well-known superpowered individual denoting its contents. ¡°Oh, wow,¡± Kat breathed, clicking through the files, ¡°This is perfect for us! There¡¯s so much info on all of these heroes- and villains! Every villain I¡¯ve ever seen on the news, online, or even in real life! There¡¯re people I¡¯ve never even heard of in here- like this guy! Look at his dumb name.¡± She pointed to the screen, her finger landing on the name ¡®Murdercycle¡¯. Gene hadn¡¯t heard of this villain either, despite both he and Kat following heroic news pretty closely. Kat double-clicked on Murdercycle, but instead of the file opening, a notification popped up on the screen. ¡°¡¯Insufficient DSA access level,¡¯¡± Gene read aloud. ¡°¡¯Must have DSA access level 2.¡¯ Alright, I guess we don¡¯t have unlimited superhero knowledge, but I¡¯m sure some of these¡¯ll work.¡± Over the next half hour, Kat and Gene found out just how not-unlimited their superhero knowledge was. Over three quarters of the heroes and villains were locked off from them, including Dynamo herself. Once they had clicked through each file, Kat slammed the pen she was using down onto the table. ¡°Finally!¡± she exclaimed, too loud for the student center they had been working in. Heads turned in their direction, and Kat ducked back behind the laptop before saying, ¡°Finally,¡± again, but quieter. ¡°We¡¯ve got a list of everyone we have access to. Most of them are¡­ pretty disappointing.¡± She handed a graded test on the back of which she had written the list to Gene, and he read over it quickly. ¡°Blowtorch, Magpie, Rock Candy¡­ that¡¯s Maria, right?¡± Kat nodded and motioned for him to continue. She had known about her roommate¡¯s vigilante moonlighting for a while, and it was only interesting to her now if there was a teamup involved. ¡°Ok, we¡¯ve also got Siren, Eldrich- I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not spelled right- Gremlin, Miss Demeanor¡­ and a handful of other D-listers I¡¯ve never heard of.¡± ¡°Well, I won¡¯t say that I¡¯m not disappointed,¡± Kat sighed, ¡°but this information might still come in handy. I¡¯ve heard of Siren, and we almost fought Miss Demeanor that one time, remember?¡± Gene smiled at the memory of one of the first times the two of them had faced a superpowered enemy, but was distracted from his thoughts by his laptop notifying him of a new email. He opened it and saw that it was from a seemingly random email address, but the subject line was what really caught his attention. The sender of the message claimed to be Dynamo. He hurriedly read the email, while Kat read it over his shoulder with just as much interest, and they both gasped aloud when they reached the end. ¡®Hey kid, there¡¯s a program starting up in the DSA that I think you and your friend might be interested in. At its most basic level it¡¯s a training program for young people like yourself with superpowers. The idea is that if we can give the next generation of superpowered individuals quality training, then they¡¯re more likely to use their abilities responsibly, and more effectively. It¡¯s a couple of months long, but we¡¯re willing to pull all the participants out of school if they can start immediately. The DSA will be handling all of the fuss of getting you out of classes if you accept as soon as possible, so let me know by opening the attached file if you¡¯re up for it. I want to warn you, though: this isn¡¯t meant to be anywhere near easy. It¡¯ll be more like boot camp than college, but if you think you¡¯ve got what it takes, we¡¯re accepting all applicants. Only open that file if you can commit, though. And, off the record, I think the two of you can pull it off if you try. -Dynamo¡¯ * * * Laura sat at her desk, working halfheartedly on her computer. Professional heroes were provided with government jobs as cover, but weren¡¯t really obligated to do much. She¡¯d get a paycheck either way, so she wasn¡¯t particularly interested in doing her IT duties if she didn¡¯t have to. As she typed away without accomplishing much, her phone buzzed. She picked it up, and saw that she had received a notification she had set up for herself. Someone had responded to her recruitment email- and she had only sent it out a few minutes ago. The file she had included was a program she wrote made to let her know when someone opened it, and who they were. Doing anything with electronics was simple for her, even down to something as fine as coding. It was all controlled by electronic signals, and therefore it was controlled by her. Laura could finish her day¡¯s IT work and be done with it, but she just didn¡¯t feel like doing it. When she checked to see who it was that had accepted the request, she smiled wryly. Gene Simon, and, by proxy, Kat Starling had opened the file. Vivaman owed her five bucks. * * * Meanwhile, Terrence Palmer sat at his own desk, much more spacious than the one he had mere days ago. He had gotten a well-deserved promotion thanks to his extensive research into the effects of the Bannister Line, and he didn¡¯t intend to stop there. The Bannister Line theory had been his crowning achievement- the idea that once a human had done something previously unachieved once, it became significantly easier for another human to achieve it, then another, and another, until it became commonplace. Named after Roger Bannister, a former Olympian athlete who was the first person to break the four-minute mile. Only 46 days later, someone else broke his record. Now, almost 1,500 runners have broken the four-minute mile. With a little investigation, it was easy for scientists to see that this strange effect carried over to many aspects of life- including a more general class of ¡®freak events.¡¯ Ever since a man first survived a dip in a vat of toxic waste- and came out the other side better than before- there have been more and more occurrences resulting in superhuman abilities, from technology centuries past the general populous, chemical mishaps leading to unprecedented results, and even genetic mutations being extremely beneficial, there¡¯ve been humans better than humans. Mr. Palmer was thinking of these observations from his work when a knock was heard at his door. ¡°Oh, hello Ms. Harper. Did you need something?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± said Ms. Harper, who had worked with Terrence for a few years now, ¡°But Mr. Burroughs does. You¡¯ve got a field assignment.¡± Chapter 6 When Kat and Gene arrived at the docks, they expected to see a bus, or perhaps someone with a teleportation power waiting to take them to their destination. They did not expect to see a boat. A worn-down speedboat was idling in the water with a poorly disguised person relaxing at the helm. They had a massive, scruffy fake beard obscuring their entire lower face, and sunglasses and a ballcap covering the top half. A jacket far too puffy for the mild morning took all form from their body. All of this subterfuge was rendered useless, however, by the constant rustling under the puffy jacket, obviously denoting something unusual with this figure in the dilapidated speedboat. Gene stood next to Kat, both of their arms full of luggage, unsure of whether or not to approach this person, or to wait for the person to approach them. After a few minutes of silent deliberation, they walked toward the boat and continued to stand without speaking. The baggy figure looked up at the two of them, and spoke in a gruff voice as poorly disguised as the person themselves. ¡°Well, toss in your luggage, don¡¯t want to be late.¡± Kat looked at Gene, shrugged, and spread open her arms, letting all of her bags drop into the damp floor of the shoddy speedboat. She climbed in after them and, in the absence of any seats or bench, sat down on a suitcase. Gene watched all this, and after one more moment of decision, did the same. With all their luggage onboard, the figure at the wheel gave the boat some gas, and they were off. The driver¡¯s jacket didn¡¯t stop moving and shuffling throughout the ride, and the two passengers took note of it. They also noticed that they didn¡¯t seem to be headed to any real location out on the water, but were traveling more into just the ocean itself. After a few minutes of travel, quiet except for the sputtering engine, the driver turned around, taking their hands off the wheel entirely, and said, maintaining the gruff, disguised voice, ¡°I really hope you two are Kat Starling and Gene Simon. I probably should have asked you before we took off.¡± Kat and Gene nodded, still unsure of their situation on this boat. Best to answer everything truthfully, for now. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a relief,¡± the driver continued, ¡°I guess I can take off this disguise now.¡± The jacket suddenly flew off the driver¡¯s body, followed by the beard and hat. All these pieces of camouflage were lost to the wind, except for the sunglasses, which the woman now standing in the speedboat removed carefully, and hung on her belt. She was wearing a purple and yellow jumpsuit with grey-armored sections, but the most noticeable feature was the purple, scaled wings spread triumphantly behind her back. She smoothed her stylishly short, blonde hair that had been ruffled by the baseball cap, and brushed away a few fluffy pieces of fake beard before giving her passengers a dashing smile. ¡°Lady Drake,¡± she said, and extended a hand down to them, ¡°They tell me that I¡¯m to be one of your instructors.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. They each shook her hand in turn, trying not to wince from the pressure she grabbed each of them with before giving each a quick jerk of approval. Gene had heard of Lady Drake before. She was a famous Welsh hero, known for fighting huge monsters, armed with her magical flail. Besides her weapon, her armor was magical, and some people speculated that Lady Drake herself had a magic bloodline. Seeing her in person, Gene could believe it. She was at least a head and a half taller than he was, and obviously muscle-bound under her armor- not to mention the wings that were seemingly sprouting right out of her back. ¡°Oh wow, we¡¯re having superheroes as teachers?¡± Kat asked, rubbing feeling back into her hand. ¡°I kind of guessed that we would, but I didn¡¯t want to get my hopes up.¡± Lady Drake threw back her head and laughed, the sound echoing out over the open waters. ¡°I¡¯m not sure you have your hopes high enough, then. Did they not tell you kids anything before they sent you out here?¡± ¡°Not¡­ really?¡± Gene answered, realizing that the two of them hadn¡¯t come to the docks with any real idea of what they were getting into. All they knew was that their classes were cancelled for them, and that they¡¯d be getting some kind of advanced training over a few months. ¡°Well then, get ready to be impressed.¡± Lady Drake grinned, removed the shining flail from her belt, and walked to the very tip of the speedboat. She flung the flail behind her, its chain clinking against itself for a few seconds as it hung in the air, and then whipped it down into the water under her. She was pulled behind the heavy, spiked ball at the end of the chain in an instant, disappearing completely into the dark sea. Kat and Gene scrambled to the front of the boat and searched the water frantically for their new instructor, but didn¡¯t see any sign of her. ¡°Well, there goes our one chance of getting some real training, not to mention getting out of the middle of the ocean,¡± Kat sighed. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll just have to eat our luggage to survive. Might as well get started.¡± She slid back into the boat, picked up a suitcase, and lifted it to her mouth. ¡°It¡¯s okay if I start with yours, right?¡± But Gene wasn¡¯t listening to her. He had more important things to pay attention to at the moment- namely, the huge, dark shapes moving towards their run-down speedboat, causing massive ripples to course through the water as they got closer to the surface. The boat was rocked severely by one of the ripples, rolling Gene over into the back of the vessel. Kat noticed the menacing shadows at that point as well, and the two of them stood up to look at them once the boat was stable. As they watched, the shapes rose slowly out of the water. Each was nearly 500 feet long and tube-shaped. Kat and Gene realized that these mysterious objects were two massive submarines, bobbing in the sunlight. A hatch opened on one, and Lady Drake¡¯s head popped out of it, waving her hand to the stranded recruits. ¡°Hello, kids! Ready for class?¡± Chapter 7 After boarding the sub, Kat and Gene were ushered through a series of security checks and medical examinations, and ended their bureaucratic journey at a frosted glass laboratory door. Lady Drake had dropped them off and told them to go into the lab to get ¡°suited up¡±. She didn¡¯t say what they would be suiting up for, but she dashed off down the hall before they could ask her. Kat shrugged, unaffected, and pushed open the glass door. The two of them had actually seen all kinds of things that would have sent any normal person into an existential crisis before. People with superhuman powers up close, alien organs preserved for medical use, and other unbelievable sights they had run into during their vigilante activities. But what they saw when they walked through the lab door was new to them, to say the least. A shark, more than ten feet long with glassy black eyes, was chest-level to Gene in the middle of the room. It was surrounded by tidy tables full of beakers, chemicals, and all manner of scientific equipment. The shark¡¯s most noticeable feature, however, was the pair of well-pressed slacks it was wearing- or rather the fact that it was wearing them. A pair of human legs sprouted directly out of the underside of the shark¡¯s body, leaving its head and tail sagging slightly over its classy belt. A clipboard hovered in the air slightly in front of one eye, but it quickly floated over to a table and seemingly set itself down as the two heroes-in-training stood, shocked, in the doorway. They suddenly heard a voice, deep and sophisticated, echo inside their heads. ¡°Oh, I apologize. I wasn¡¯t quite prepared for more arrivals yet. Please take a seat.¡± As Kat and Gene heard this voice in their thoughts, the shark seemed to gesture with its entire body to a row of modern-looking seating against one wall. Kat guessed, finding no other explanation, that the disembodied voice must be coming from the shark. We¡¯d better do what he says, she thought, I don¡¯t want to know what¡¯ll happen if I disobey orders a shark gave. The shark turned back to her as she walked to the seats, Gene following, and she heard the voice again, saying, ¡°It¡¯s quite rude to assume one¡¯s countenance solely because of their appearance.¡± She froze, and turned to the shark, which was looking right at her with its glazed eyes. It appeared to be waiting for something. ¡°S¡­ sorry?¡± she tried, feeling silly talking to a fish, even if it had legs. ¡°No harm done, young lady,¡± the voice- or apparently, the shark, said. ¡°I¡¯m certain it¡¯s unsettling having to watch your very thoughts. Believe me, if I could choose not to hear other¡¯s surface-level thoughts, I most certainly would.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Hear thoughts?¡± Gene said aloud, suddenly. It was jarring to Kat, after just having a mostly mental conversation, to hear a voice outside of her own head. ¡°No one told us you could read thoughts. Or¡­ or other things.¡± ¡°Ah, they must be speeding off to pick up more recruits then. My apologies for any confusion, then. I am Dr. Selachii, and I oversee medical, scientific, and psychic activities here. And yes, in addition to being a doctorate scientist, I am a shark. A tiger shark- Galeocerdo cuvier, if you must know- mutated through forces unknown even to myself, and now able to walk, breath air, speak psychically, and manipulate objects in many ways with psychic energies. And your names, if I¡¯m not mistaken,¡± he said, looking at his clipboard once again, ¡°Are Eugene Simon and Katherine Starling, my next appointments.¡± ¡°Appointments?¡± said both Gene and Kat, not wanting to go through any kind of medical examination by even the most well-spoken shark. ¡°Yes,¡± chuckled the shark¡¯s voice, ¡°But don¡¯t worry, this isn¡¯t any normal medical examination. I will psychically test each of you, as I have done with the other recruits, to see that you are able to perform on an appropriate level- and to confirm that you won¡¯t be a danger to others.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure that that makes me feel any better, but I guess we should get started,¡± Gene said. The voice of the shark boomed inside of his head as reality warped and faded before him, ¡°Very well.¡± * * * Terrence Palmer opened his laptop on his new desk. It was unusual, trying to do everyday office work on board a submarine full of superheroes, but he was excited to get back in the field to some extent after being cooped up in an office for so long. After he finished typing up the preliminary reports, he would take some time to get familiar with the sub he was on- the Hadal. The Hadal was the twin of the Benthic, and while it was used primarily for bunks and recreation areas, the Benthic was the main training facility for the DSA¡¯s program. He had read reports of some of the superpowered individuals that would be trained, as well as some of the instructors, and knew that there were many different facilities onboard both vessels that would prove useful for them- and therefore required at least a quick inspection. He looked over a map that had been on his small desk when he first unpacked, and ran his finger over a few marked areas. Water entries in each sub¡­ Impact-proof training rooms¡­ A lead-lined isolation chamber¡­ And generators strong enough to power cities. So many specially designed facilities for this program. And, if even one didn¡¯t function properly, then everyone onboard could die. Terrence gulped despite his excitement, and straightened his tie. This was going to be an interesting assignment.