《I'm No Hero》


 Chapter 1

    ¡°Save us Captain Wormhole!¡± Actress


    Then the theme music starts playing and I switch off the channel. Why the hell do people still make superhero tv shows? Let alone the damn comics, nowadays those are aimed at actual people, not literary ones! I shake my head at the thoughts, the real reason is because with the emergence of Supers, every nerd immediately turned into an expert on most forms of power and it¡¯s progression, making them fairly influential. And because of that, they have begun to turn things to match their preferences, including superhero tv shows.


    And besides, the top class ¡°Heroes¡± like it when Hollywood strokes their egos.


    I get up off of my lazyboy and switch the TV off. Good TV died out for Supers as soon as we get our powers, and Netflix is mostly just a series of shittier TV shows. Hell, I can¡¯t even go to the movies these days without seeing one of those arrogant pricks show up on screen. The fact that I know them on a work basis just makes it worse.


    I stretch a little before walking over to a calendar I have on my room¡¯s wall. I want to make sure of my schedule for today, since you never know when you might forget something highly important. The schedule has a long series of crossed out days, leading up to today, and I groan a little, a small amount of hope dashed. Today is orientation for the recently captured Unregistereds, meaning I¡¯ll have to give that damn speech again. I hate giving that speech.


    At least I had a good breakfast. One of the few perks I earn from my position, I get to have actual food instead of the mass produced slop they serve in the cafeteria. I love the lunch ladies, but pink slop is pink slop, even if it isn¡¯t necessarily pink.


    I go over to my bedroom, which is as messy as can be expected of someone who lives alone and has neither anyone to impress or OCD. I remove the comfortable PJs I was wearing before grabbing the uniform they have for working here, a black and red jump suit that¡¯s reminiscent of the one in Half Life. Once that¡¯s done, I take a quick look at myself in the bathroom. I have a tiny bit of shadow on my jaw, but nothing that will be overly noticeable unless you¡¯re looking for it. My hair is a little messy, but nothing a little combing won¡¯t fix. I showered last night, so no problem there, and I have deodorant on. The little scar on my cheek is faint, so even if someone notices it they¡¯ll probably assume it was some stupid accident, so I doubt I¡¯ll have questions on that front.


    After doing some combing, I leave my quarters and start walking down to the orientation room. I take a cursory glance at the compound surrounding me. My quarters is stuck in the middle of isolation, the Fridge as it¡¯s often called, and because of that I get a good view. The Fridge is a series of clear cubes, named ice cubes, that are spaced and suspended in a three dimensional cubic grid pattern around my home. As I take my walk out of my home, I hear and see the people around me start stirring. A lot of them start banging on their walls and jeer at me, though they probably don¡¯t realize that their chambers are soundproof. The smart ones keep quiet and simply observe me.


    I keep on walking down the catwalk and take a small look at the walls of the Fridge. They are huge, since the entirety of the Fridge is rather spacious. Each wall is white, and made from a material that could take a couple nukes at the same time, on the ridiculous chance that the convicts in here regain their powers.


    Oh right, did I mention that I live in a compound filled with Supers? Well, I do. The regular staff and most of the guards are normal and make up most of the population, though. The actual number of people in here is about two thousand. About ten percent of those are prisoners, over whom I have the wonderful job of presiding to make sure they don¡¯t try and break out.


    Hence why I live surrounded by the most dangerous ones.


    When I get to the security door to get out, I pull out my SCAI card, SCAI standing for Security Clearance and Administrative Identification, and put it into the door mechanism like a credit card into a gas pump. After a moment a buzzing sound and the disengaging of the locks alert me that I was successfully cleared for exit, along with the card jutting back out for me to grab.


    I grab the SCAI and then start walking through this, rather heavily, fortified section of the compound that has been fully automated and relies on one''s Tape. Tape and SCAI cards are fundamentally different. My jumpsuit is unique in it¡¯s color and Tape clearance, but the way it usually works is different. See, most people have orange jumpsuits like the convict¡¯s, but it¡¯s the colored markings that are the Tape. they had black Tape, marking them as permanent residents of the Fridge and a shoot on sight target for the guards and automated security.


    Regular convicts have red Tape, marking them as dangerous though to only shoot to incapacitate, as opposed to a black¡¯s shoot to kill. Newcomers that aren¡¯t convicts are given white Tapes, security and other staff members are given blue Tapes, their SCAI determining their personal clearance level, and that¡¯s about it.


    I eventually exit the fortified section and get to the lift, entering it and calling out my destination.


    ¡°Orientation room, A8. Administrative clearance, codename, Void, password, Abadon.¡± Adrian


    I still get a bad taste in my mouth every time I have to say that damn codename, despite having to twice a day, at least. The female, robotic voice of the compound¡¯s automatic functions replies.


    ¡°Acknowledged, Mr. Murphy.¡± Osus


    I never learned if Osus was an acronym or just the name the technicians gave her, but that¡¯s what the general population refers to her as.


    The trip inside the lift was quick, barely taking more than a minute despite the fairly large size of the compound, and I was walking out of it rather soon after entering. When I exited, I saw a group of staff leaders, other people who are going to introduce themselves today.


    They were mostly replacements for the last group of department heads, since this place is usually just a milestone for most people trying to go up the ranks in DSMIR. Usually we get a new round of staff every two years, this being the cycle year. The only exceptions being Mrs. Palmer, the compounds psychiatrist, and a man I¡¯ve only ever know as Smith, the leader of the compound¡¯s security.


    The instant Mrs. Palmer saw me, she got the disgruntled expression she usually has before talking about something that has, obviously, disgruntled her.


    ¡°I sent a letter to the project directors and government overseers, but they still refused to give you more time above ground. I can¡¯t stand this! Not only are they treating you like a slave, but they¡¯re preventing you from experiencing the necessary elements of mental growth that someone your age needs! It¡¯s barbaric!¡± Mrs. Palmer


    ¡°As much as I appreciate the sentiment, doctor, every moment I¡¯m away from the compound is another opportunity for a convict to start a fully powered riot. Besides, I¡¯ll be even busier now with the new batch of Trainees. It¡¯s for the best that I stay here, unfortunately.¡± Adrian


    Plus my term of service is up in a month, soon enough I¡¯ll be able to leave this hellhole and do whatever the hell I want with my life. I¡¯m about the only one left in my training class of DSMIR agents who hasn¡¯t had at least the opportunity to retire. An agent gets the opportunity to leave DSMIR if they maintain the same position for four years. I¡¯ve held this position since I was twelve, and I¡¯m already sixteen.


    And just so you¡¯re wondering, strict government oversight as well as League of Heroes oversight, prevent the board of directors at DSMIR from constantly switching us out at the last minute.


    ¡°And don¡¯t forget that you may end up killing innocents, parasite.¡± Asshole


    I unintentionally let out a small growl as the voice of one of my least favorite Supers, Captain Wormhole, or Captain Asshole as I prefer to call him, teleports himself and another Super, one of the low tier bimbos he¡¯s always got following him, into my field of vision. I¡¯ve never met the woman, which means trouble, because if she¡¯s never been an Unregistered, it means she¡¯s related to someone very important. Both are wearing masks that only barely hide their distinguishable characteristics, aside from skin color, height, build, and hair color, though I suspect the woman is dying it blonde, going by the darker roots.


    ¡°Oh, Captain, it looks like the bug thinks he¡¯s a dog! How cute.¡± BitchfaceYou could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    I take a closer examination of Bitchface, and notice that she is smoking, though not in the literal sense, unfortunately. No, just in the sense that breeds false confidence and arrogant behavior patterns. Her light combat armor fits a little too tightly to her form to be family friendly, and I squint my eyes at all the pink.


    ¡°Hey, Captain Asshole, you should introduce me to your new Weeker, or else I¡¯ll probably lose my chance to ever meet her again before she falls back into obscurity.¡± Adrian


    Bitchface froze for a moment at my casual reference to the illustrious Captain Wormhole, as Asshole. Then she glimpsed for a mere moment at Mr. Wormy himself as she realized what I meant by Weeker, since I suppose her intelligence seems to be less lacking than her relevance. If you¡¯re still wondering what I mean, well, allow me to say that Asshole has a habit of finding the love of his life frequently, so frequently it once happened on a weekly basis.


    She probably would have thought nothing of it if Assholes expression hadn¡¯t frozen the instant she looked over, causing her to go even more into shock.


    Well, that was unexpectedly potent. Although watching him squirm is a wonderful experience, I need him loud and proud for his speech.


    I roll my eyes and then start walking through the two, and address Bitchface.


    ¡°Oh calm down, you¡¯ve got plenty of more than any of the previous ones, specifically in two protruding areas. Oh, and Asshole, try not to piss yourself today, as per usual.¡± Adrian


    I take a glance over my shoulder to make sure that everyone is ready to head out, which they are.


    I walk through the door to the orientation room as it slides open automatically for me, and then turn left to head for my chair at the podium. Taking a cursory glance at those present, I see the hundred or so people who are currently in either small groups or standing alone in the entire chamber. I mark those standing alone in my mind, characterising them for being loners in times of uncertainty. Everyone else is in hurried groups, who are each examining me and those behind me.


    Then the chatter begins.


    ¡°Hey, is that Captain Wormhole?!¡± Groupie 1


    Oh God damnit.


    ¡°Oh my God! It is!¡± Groupie 2


    I can¡¯t see where the voices are coming from, though I wish I could, just to remember their faces.


    ¡°I¡¯M YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!¡± Super Groupie


    This one I could see, and I gotta say, she is rather¡­ well, I now fear for Bitchface¡¯s continued position. The girl looks to be about my age, but aside from that she belongs on the front cover of a magazine, and from her current actions her brain probably belongs under a microscope. Wormhole is only twenty years old, his age a question I can¡¯t help but ask as I always request for someone older and more respectable, like Iron Berserker. Anyways, due to his age, I think that statutory law allows for him to have a relationship with Super Bombshe-- Groupie.


    I see Wormhole freeze for a second before his smile brightens a little, though there is a tightness I¡¯m having trouble understanding.


    Then I start hearing the intelligent chatter start up.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the kid?¡± Idiot 1


    Never mind. I know I¡¯m young, but at least I get a begrudging respect from top members of the League of Heroes. I hear some similar comments, but most of it was directed at my fellows who sat down all to my left.


    Then the emotional groups get everyone riled up. Shit.


    ¡°WHEN DO WE GET TO GO HOME?!¡± Emotional 1


    ¡°I WANNA GO HOME!! WAAAAHH!!¡± Kid 1


    Oh damnit, the Hunters really don¡¯t fucking discriminate, do they? God damnit! I hate it when they grab kids! I work fast and focus my powers on the two that started, and both immediately start coughing a little violently. I do the same with several others directly afterwards.


    ¡°Ah damn, Osus! Some people have Jumper Sickness, send a nurse to lead them to the infirmary! Last thing I need is them throwing up all over--¡± Adrian


    At that, the emotional guy who was trying to start a riot pukes his guts out all over the floor, which causes me to groan a little. That was, partly, intentional on my part, but I still hate it when it happens. The guy probably had actual Jumper Sickness, Jumpers being the teleportation devices that Hunters use to bring their catches to the Compound.


    I know that most of the names are a little on the nose, but that¡¯s just how people like to call them, of this I have no control. Besides, they work, even if they cause some sickness in 1 out of 10 Supers. Pretty quickly some nurses who were waiting for something like this to happen rush in and start guiding the sick ones to the infirmary, bags at their belts waiting to be filled.


    Once they¡¯re all out, everyone is suitably quieter, not a word being said. Taking that as his cue, Captain Asshole steps up to begin his speech.


    ¡°My fellow Supers! Each and every one of you was captured as an unregistered Super by the Hunters. Now, while you are lawfully criminals, we won¡¯t hold it against you, as many of the Heroes who are now members of the League were once in a similar situation to you. As such, an opportunity has been extended to each and every one of you. An opportunity to have all past crimes pardoned, and become a member of the League!¡± Asshole


    A lot of people start looking at one another with trepidation and uncertainty. I can¡¯t help but sigh. It doesn¡¯t matter how many times this idiot gives that damn speech, he still can¡¯t manage to give these people any determination. Noticing that everyone is starting to give him looks he¡¯s not used to receiving, he does what he always does.


    ¡°Ah, Red Dawn! We¡¯ve got an alert from the League, we need to go!¡± Asshole


    I sigh, before my face scrunches up in disbelief, ¡°Red Dawn?¡± She¡¯s pinker than a fundraiser for cancer research! She looks a little flustered, definitely having no clue whatsoever about what is going on, and bumbles slightly as Captain Asshole opens up one of his namesakes, talking about the wormholes, before grabbing her and dashing through.


    Everyone is silent for a moment, before I let out an audible groan.


    ¡°Will that dumbass ever stop being such a damn chicken? I swear! I wish he didn¡¯t personify the stereotype for all mobility type Supers, but damn me, it¡¯s like he fucking created it!¡± Adrian


    My rant seems to have gained the attention of the entire chamber, and people are looking at me with wide eyes. It looks like the groupies are seething with rage and uncertainty, while Super Groupie is on the verge of crying. I shake my head as I let it hang for a moment before getting up and start strutting onto the center of the podium.


    ¡°So, I¡¯ll just tell you all everything that Captain Wormhole failed to inform you about. Firstly, not everyone is going to become a Hero, most of you will actually become people like me, Agents of DSMIR--¡± Adrian


    ¡°That acronyms shit!¡± Squeaky


    The voice was shrill and no doubt belonged to a member of the accursed subhuman race, the Squeaker. It¡¯s not my first run in with the Ilk, though I¡¯ve only ever met them in their natural habitat, the FPS, never in the wild. I don¡¯t even try to look at him as I reply without thinking, just staring at the entire group as one singular entity.


    ¡°Well, Squeaky, if you want to tell that to the president, director of the FBI, director of NSA, Flambe, and Blackzone, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll stop their wonderfully meaningful jobs, just for a Ten year old. Now then, onto--¡± Adrian


    ¡°I¡¯M TWELVE!!¡± Squeaky


    ¡°And your balls still haven¡¯t dropped?¡± Random Guy


    I start snapping my fingers to return attention to myself.


    ¡°Thank you, for this wonderful peanut gallery debate. Now then--¡± Adrian


    ¡°YOU¡¯RE JUST A BIG BITCH!! SUCK MY DICK!!¡± Squeaky


    Just then, I see a dot start approaching my eye at a fast speed. In response, I shoot up my hand at a speed that would surprise most, given my age and lanky appearance. I grasp at the projectile and catch it, the distance from my eye miniscule. I pull it down slightly, and inspect the pencil, before casting my eyes were the pencil came from.


    The resulting sight is a disgustingly fat dough ball. Now, I¡¯ve met fat people, I can respect fat people, I have nothing against fat people. But this¡­ when your face starts bloating and looks like one of those squeezy dolls that people use to relieve stress, you have to realize that you will die by the age of twenty.


    Well, I guess I¡¯ve found the emotions I need to enjoy my speech.


    ¡°So, Squeaky, do you want to know what your actual options are right now? I¡¯d meant to be very civil about instructing you all, but I suppose a demonstration would be educational.¡± Adrian


    I jump off the podium and start twirling the pencil in my hand, somehow managing to give myself an air of menace by doing so. Apparently I¡¯ve always been rather unsettling to people, but ever since I started training my powers it just got worse. At least I figured out a switch for it, and sometimes I wonder if I have a superpower that can unsettle people, despite how impossible that is.


    The crowd parts in front of me, forming a straight line from me to Squeaky, who now started shaking, which just made him look even more like a water balloon.


    ¡°There are actually three possible outcomes for most people. 1, you become a Hero, which is for people who are either pretty or powerful.¡± Adrian


    I started slowly but surely closing the gap between us, causing him to start actually sweating, which somehow made me even more disgusted.


    ¡°2, you become an agent of DSMIR. People who become agents are usually trained to become living weapons, even if their powers aren¡¯t as magnificent as most Heroes, they can still kill one easily.¡± Adrian


    Okay, that isn¡¯t even remotely true, but it¡¯s making him shiver. I got even closer, and I could tell his world had already melted away to just be me and him. I couldn¡¯t help but sigh on the inside, he doesn¡¯t even have a proper fight or flight reflex, just what the hell. Time to tell him about the final option.


    ¡°Or option 3, for those with no determination, self-control, a will to improve, or even a sense of respect or caution, they all become convicts. Now, being a convict means you¡¯ll be stuck down here, in this compound, for the rest. Of. Your. Natural. Life.¡± Adrian


    I was right in front of him now, and I gotta say, he stinks to high heaven.


    ¡°Now then, lots of people can aim without the help of a superpower, you¡¯re not pretty in any sense of the word, and you don¡¯t even have the marginal sense to at least back up right about now. That leaves you one. Final. Option.¡± Adrian


    I didn¡¯t know for sure if that was his power, but given his confidence it had to do with throwing things.


    I give him the same demonic smile I¡¯ve been working on for years. His face was already pale, and I wonder if he had any actual blood flow to his brain. I smelled something that belongs in the bathroom as he faints, somewhat surprising me, and I can¡¯t help but take a step back before voicing out my annoyed surprise.


    ¡°Really? You piss yourself and faint? I havne¡¯t even-- oh God damnit he shit himself too! Osus! Send a damn janitor, my lord. First people are puking on my orientation room, now it¡¯s literal shit!¡± Adrian


    I just shake my head in further annoyance before turning around and hopping back onto the podium.


    ¡°Smith, tell the Hunters that they need to stop being so damn sloppy and that we need to actually strip search these people, not just drop these people in the Orientation room.¡± Adrian


    I then start walking over to the door to the lift, before stopping myself, and addressing the stunned crowd one more time.


    ¡°Oh, and you all can call me Warden Murphy. And if any of you act up like Squeakers down there, don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m a Super like you lot, and making ten years olds shit themselves isn¡¯t my power.¡± Adrian


    And it¡¯s then that I decide to walk out, seeing how I¡¯ve done all that needs doing.

 Chapter 2

    ¡°We had a deal.¡± Adrian


    ¡°And I have done nothing to compromise the deal.¡± Director Mordred


    I gnash my teeth and bite back the urge to growl.


    ¡°Bullshit! I just got a letter--¡± Adrian


    ¡°Outlining that you have been reassigned as the new head of the training for the New Mexico Superhuman Containment Compound. The motion however didn¡¯t come from the Board of Directors, but instead from the League of Heroes. The motion came from them with a unanimous decision, so only half of the Board was needed to sustain it, and as you know I barely control my half of it.¡± Director Mordred


    ¡­. what?


    ¡°What do you mean, unanimous?¡± Adrian


    ¡°Magnificent Mind is off leading a research team to those new floating islands in South America, and since they can¡¯t send any communications to that area, a temporary Counselor was assigned to take his place. Everyone else simply understood the value of your powers in training the new generation. Well, with the obvious exception of the Three Kings, they just wanted to see you suffer.¡± Director Mordred


    Of course they did. Son of a- you know what, calm down, Adrian, calm down. There has to be a few perks to this, I probably won¡¯t get a deal on the level of what the last guy had, but they can¡¯t justify the same de facto slavery when my predecessor was essentially living the high life.


    ¡°What are the perks?¡± Adrian


    I couldn¡¯t see Director Mordred¡¯s face, he was actually being displayed on a screen in a way that essentially showed me a shadow of him. Hell, I didn¡¯t even know his name, I didn¡¯t know the name of anyone on the Board of Directors. Mordred wasn¡¯t his real name, just like how Director Galahad is named Galahad. They¡¯re all named after people from Arthurian legend, obviously. Although he seemed to have a tinge of british in the lilt of his voice.


    ¡°You received a pay increase, you now have a weeks leave per month instead of two days, and are allowed to leave the Compound in want of training missions. You¡¯re duties have also changed. You will now focus on grouping the Superhumans in such ways as to promote synergy, in lieu of the antagonisms you previously saw to with the convicts. Also, I did pull some strings with the reinstatement, this will be your final year here. Finally, a new Super will be chosen to oversee the convicts, and in accordance with our agreement with the League of Heroes, it will be one of their members.¡± Director Mordred


    Oh great. I like everything preceding the last point, really, I do. Training fresh meat was doable, they weren¡¯t as transfixed around their powers due to how little they¡¯ve experience the world of fame, but working that closely with fulltime Heroes? Well, that¡¯s a whole ¡®nother matter entirely.


    And in case you¡¯re wondering why now this is a problem for me, it¡¯s because the last one in my position wasn¡¯t a Super, he didn¡¯t need to be. He was just a normal human, because he just needed respect, which can be earned without power. For intimidating all of the convicts? Power is needed, raw, indomitable power. I had that, and it works out great, but whoever it is that¡¯s coming will probably need more.


    ¡°Do you at least know who it is they¡¯re sending?¡± Adrian


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any power in the League, Anu has a way of keeping all it¡¯s dirty secrets within the confines of it¡¯s, albeit resplendent, walls. Regardless, I¡¯ve had one of my men compile a list of likely choices. They¡¯ll be following in your footsteps, after all. Few are as capable at suppressing another Super as quickly as you, without doing irreparable damage to their bodies and surroundings, that is.¡± Director Mordred


    At that, an email notification showed up at the bottom corner of the wall sized screen. I tapped said corner, and several files opened up, all dossiers.


    None of them describing people I was especially fond of. Especially the last one.


    ¡°I get the feeling they¡¯ll have assigned the final individual to take your former position.¡± Director Mordred


    ¡°You sound way too damn happy about the prospect.¡± Adrian


    I heard him start chuckling at my grumbles, and not long after the video feed ended.


    ¡°Jackass.¡± Adrian


    Okay, let¡¯s see, I¡¯ll probably have a few weeks of relative peace until the new warden shows up, and if Director Mordred was right, which he usually is, all hell might break loose by the end of this peace.


    Yay me.


    ¡°Mr. Murphy, I have just been notified of a fight between two of the Trainee Supers, I am to remind you that--¡± Osus


    Figures they¡¯d start a fight right now.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m to end any and all aggressions as quickly and painlessly as possible.¡± Adrian


    I got out and started running towards the elevator system. Despite how therapeutic this whole scenario was about to become for me, sometimes you just have to hit somebody, it¡¯s still highly dangerous for most everyone else in the probable vicinity.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    When I got in the elevator, Osus opened up a wall and showed me an assortment of stun guns, tranquilizers, and the like to use in taking my opponents down without causing much injury. I ignored it though, I mean, why wouldn¡¯t I? Do you use a nutcracker on a squeeze ball? Of course you don¡¯t, it defeats the purpose. These items likewise defeat my purpose, and that is an extremely fast acting and effective


    Next time I might use a weapon, unless it was again with a Trainee, in which case I now had a, moral, obligation to teach them ¡®hands on¡¯.


    Very quickly the elevator stops, and I¡¯m exiting the doorway into a veritable cluster fuck. Oh wonderful, it somehow escalated into a brawl this quickly? No wonder Palmer thinks Supers have a predisposition to violence, we just can¡¯t keep our fights to ourselves! Right now, I¡¯m looking at the mess hall, the entire place filled with Supers in the throes of what¡¯s probably the best fight of their lives.


    To me it looks like a kindergartener¡¯s attempt at a food fight, but that barely matters right now.


    The majority of them are visibly using powers, shooting off balls of light or , or a great many other things really. There¡¯s one guy who¡¯s throwing fireballs, though the effect seems only to be a form of kinetic blast instead of real fire thankfully. To me though, I can smell up the stench of every other type of power as well, and seemingly the only ones not using their powers are either not doing anything or cowering in fear in the corners of the room.


    I tried calling out and telling them to sit down or else, but some pain in the ass charges me and tries to throw me up against the wall a few feet away.


    Okay, yeah, to hell with giving them all an easy way out.


    Before we even come into contact with the wall, he¡¯s sweating up a storm and barely able to push me, so I punch him in the back, sending him flat against the floor. I let out a ferocious and hungry grin as I feel the power, and then roar and charge into the brawl, making everyone around me start dropping unconscious either from me beating the hell out of them or lack of stamina.


    I catch myself in a moment of introspection as I¡¯m using a stout man as a club while beating the hell out of some guy who¡¯s glowing blue. I knew the small man could make parts of his body highly dense, going by his weight and durability, hence my obvious willingness to, otherwise, severely hurt him to beat the other man down. However, why the hell am I using him as a club? I¡¯d stopped putting this entire brawl down a few unconscious Supers ago and now I¡¯m a willing participant in the melee.


    And then I realize it.


    Someone is causing the fight with their power, otherwise I¡¯d already have everyone on the ground by now. I toss the stout man into someone who was charging me, and quickly scan the area for anyone who isn¡¯t fighting right now, as something like this should take a lot out of someone.


    And low and behold, I saw Super Groupie standing, still as a statue, hands clenched at her sides, and hair flying all over the place.


    Yep, she¡¯s using a power alright or my name''s Daphy Duck.


    I fight the urge to go back to berserking like a maniac, which is much harder than it should be, and weave through the fighting towards the girl. I get there fairly easily, grab the sides of her head, and in an instant, she¡¯s slumping into me, sleeping like a log. As I suspected would happen, everyone starts calming down the sound of panting is heavy in the air as all eyes look utterly confused, before people begin looking at me now fireman carrying the groupie as I exit the room without a word.


    I¡¯ll leave the explanations to the other people here, I need to get this girl to my office as soon as possible. She¡¯ll be waking up in a few minutes, and I when she does I¡¯m having a talk with her. Her powers can cause one hell of a lot of trouble if she¡¯s not made aware of their potency. Hell, I¡¯ve had telepaths try working me up like that in the past, but nothing on her level. She must be a field type, otherwise she¡¯d have given herself a seizure affecting that many supers of differing powers and mentalities.


    And field types can be one hell of a lot of trouble when it comes to training their powers, so I¡¯ll have to remember that for later.


    I go into the elevator and tell Osus to bring me to my office, and no that isn¡¯t the same area as my home. I have an actual office, though I see little need to use it most days, although I guess I¡¯ll have much more work that requires an office nowadays. Damn.


    I get some quirked eyebrows and worried looks at my carrying the girl from some people, mostly the new hires though. I got into the room, and dropped her into a chair directly opposite my desk, making sure she¡¯s at least not in an obviously uncomfortable position.


    ¡°Osus, pull up this girl¡¯s file, including Palmer¡¯s profile on her if that¡¯s been made yet.¡± Adrian


    Maybe I should explain something, it¡¯s been two days since I first introduced myself to everyone during orientation, and so far I¡¯ve just been taking care of my former duties as warden. That consisted of keeping the convicts in rotating sleeping arrangements and keeping the ones who have powerful power combinations far away from one another. Now, my main duties have essentially changed from weakening the convicts to strengthening the Trainees.


    Great.


    Also, Dr. Plamer is currently in the process of profiling every single one of the Trainees to determine how we should deal with everyone. We want as small a chance as humanly possible to produce any more convicts and potential Super Villains, so we modify our approach to keep that from happening. This is the first time I¡¯ve started using these profiles for anything other than sabotaging people, so this out to be interesting.


    I get the file almost immediately, and thankfully I also get a profile.


    Her name¡¯s Taylor Jones, age 17, slightly below average grades, cheerleader. It seems she¡¯s probably a Born Super, which means her powers manifested at a young age and almost always comes about when you have a Super as a parent. The Hunters discovered her following her awakening. According to others, her mood was always infectious, even as a baby, but what really tipped the Hunters off was when she went to a comedy movie, and a burial procession that was happening in a nearby church turned into a room filled with incoherent laughter.


    They monitored her for some time more before bringing her with this batch of Trainees.


    Dr. Palmer¡¯s profile describes her as a very social, but at the same time slightly dense girl. She comes from a nice family, has decent morals, though has no siblings. She¡¯s adopted, because her mother¡¯s infertile. That also means that, at this moment, there is potentially either a Super with a missing kid, or an unknown super who¡¯s off our records.


    I notice her wake up, and she¡¯s looked at me with bleary eyes. She¡¯ll be perfectly fine in a few minutes, though she¡¯ll definitely be tired for the rest of the day. I look at her and speak with my usual monotone voice.


    ¡°Ah, Ms. Jones, I was hoping you¡¯d wake up. Now, what do you remember?¡± Adrian


    I ask her this because sometimes the unconscious activation of a power when you¡¯re not that skilled at controlling it can cause blackouts. It¡¯s what happened to me when I awakened. Awakening is usually what happens when you powers first begin to grow, and only really happens with Born Supers, and most of the time occurs outside of the Supers own control.


    She looks at me with confusion and a little fear, though I can tell she¡¯s trying to remember what happened.


    ¡°I-uh, I d-don''t- r-remember what? What happened?¡± Taylor


    I nodded, this was expectable.


    ¡°Well, something managed to anger you enough to unconsciously activate your power, which then managed to get everyone else angry. I went down to break up the ensuing fight. I prevented you from causing any real damage.¡± Adrian


    Now she looked terrified. Ah, she probably expects me to torture her or something, or whatever people these days call disciplinary action. Sadists the lot of them, at least I don¡¯t pretend I don¡¯t enjoy some of the punishments. Then again, I¡¯m supposed to be in charge of training them now, so I may have to change my tactics.


    ¡°A-are you going to p-punish me?¡± Taylor


    I shook my head.


    ¡°If it was intentional, which I find doubtful, I would. But as it stands, I¡¯m just going to tell you to keep better control over your moods. If I find out you lose control like this again, I¡¯ll consider taking disciplinary action. Now, go back to the commons, someone will explain everything in more depth to everyone, yourself included. Good day.¡± Adrian


    At that, I got up, opened the door and waited for her to leave. She got up, but surprised me to a degree.


    ¡°T-thanks for stopping me before I hurt someone, and for not punishing me. I¡¯ll do better next time.¡± Taylor


    At that, she left the room, and I closed the door before getting back to my desk. I now had a lot more work to do, like finding every way to screw with the Council and Board of Directors I can without giving any legitimate reason to punish me.


    But first how about I get acquainted with the system. I¡¯ll be needing it in the near future, this is my new job, after all. Then I take a look at the file¡­


    A file that¡¯s just under ten gigabytes in size...


    This is going to take a while.

 Chapter 3

    ¡°Let me be perfectly clear here kid, your sister¡¯s power is worthless. Trust me, I¡¯ve been a Hero for as long as the League has existed, I know what I¡¯m talking about. No one is going to take her as a sidekick, not even DSMIR. And we both know what happens to Unregistered Supers who aren¡¯t taken into the League or DSMIR, don¡¯t we?¡± Jack Frost


    I nodded fearfully. I didn¡¯t want my sister to end up with the dangerous people. With the villains. He smiled.


    ¡°So, I want to make a little deal with you. Sign this piece of paper, become an agent of DSMIR, reject Magnificent Mind¡¯s attempts to make you his sidekick, and I¡¯ll take your sister in. I¡¯ll even adopt her, give her a family, I know you and her have always wanted that much. Wouldn¡¯t it be the brotherly thing to do to give your sister a future she can never reach by herself?¡± Jack Frost


    I stared at the paper and pen he had put on the desk in between us.


    ¡°I can help my sister if I sign my name on the paper?¡± Adrian


    He smiled.


    ¡°You can.¡± Jack Frost


    I picked up the pen and had my name on the paper the moment he was finished, and I couldn¡¯t help but growl in frustration at my former childishness. The dream version of Jack Frost, a Hero who could create and control ice, turned and laughed at me in victory. The real me, the me that was banging on the glass separating me from my foolish child self. I was only nine years old when I made that deal, nine.


    I would never have thought that the Heroes were fighting tooth and nail to get her as a sidekick. I only found that out later, when one of the ones who lost to Jack started complaining about it in my vicinity. Sometimes I wish that I could tell my sister about what he did, but whenever we talk she¡¯s just so damn happy it hurts. I could never tell her, I could never ruin her perfect family, even if I¡¯m not a part of it.


    The scene changed, it was probably during my second year as an active agent in DSMIR, going by my shaved head. That was a phase. I was also crying in a corner, curled up in a ball. Ah, this was right after I found out, isn¡¯t it? I sigh and fall back from the glass, this is a nightmare, the more I struggle the more futile it becomes.


    ¡°You could have had a family too, Parasite, if you weren¡¯t such a damn idiot. I mean, what kind of Super wouldn¡¯t want your sister as a partner? She makes us all more powerful, and she only gets better and better. You? All you can do is hurt people, remember how much you would hurt your sister? How you kept her from playing, how you kept her from making friends? Don¡¯t you remember?!¡± Jack Frost


    I can¡¯t wait till I get to wake up. Hearing myself sobbing in a corner just makes me feel pitiful.


    ******


    I snort as I wake up, blinking my eyes blearily. I look around, I¡¯m in my bed. Damn me was that one hell of a nightmare. At least it started getting enjoyable near the end. Since when did I dream of jello monkeys fighting jedi polarbears all voiced by Sean Connery? I mean, even I was voiced by Sean Connery.


    I then turned my head to look at the television I seem to have left on. I was about to turn it off, but the new broadcast on it caught my attention.


    ¡°--And thanks to the efforts of the Heroine, Boost, a team of rookie Sidekicks was saved. The team attempted an unsanctioned attack on a drug ring stationed in Los Angeles. The team was beaten and on the ground, but with her timely appearance, she managed to not only rescue them, but also capture the local ring leader. Truly, this is the stuff of our Heroes, ladies and gentlemen.¡± Reporter


    The television then showed images of my blue costumed sibling quite literally saving the day. I smile, sis really has become what we always dreamed of being. A real life hero. Sure, she¡¯s technically still a sidekick, but that¡¯s just because she¡¯s still a minor. Hell, these days people call her the ¡°Queen of the Sidekicks.¡± She¡¯s a Hero in all but name, and if Magnificent Mind is to be believed, which he is, then she even attends meetings with the Hero team she Sidekicks for.


    And then I start laughing my ass off, oh this is just way too damn good! One of the Sidekicks she saved was that one chick, can¡¯t remember her name, she had pink armor and was a weeker for Captain Blowhole. Anyways, she was part of the rookie team! She must have just become a member of the League if she¡¯s still a sidekick.


    I turned the TV off soon after and got ready for work. Today, I¡¯ll start officially training the fresh meat. Hopefully one of the PTs already told everyone that I¡¯ll be taking care of training from now on.


    See, the way the training department works is, you have one person in charge of macro-training, that is all of the big assignments like training missions and testing days. Under the macro-trainer are the personal trainers, the PTs. They are all specifically chosen to have meshing personalities with the Super they¡¯re meant to be training, it¡¯s like putting a track coach for the track team, it works a lot better than putting the basketball coach for the track team. The PTs make sure everyone is improving their physical conditions and are pushed towards pursuing careers in either the League or DSMIR.


    That¡¯s part of the reason why Dr. Palmer creates profiles for everyone, so that we can get proper trainers for them.


    By mid day I¡¯m in the commons, and watch as people start pouring in through the doors in the back. Everyone has at least cautious looks on their faces when they see me, so my speech and the fight I finished a few days ago did their duty. Thankfully, from what I understand, being feared is just as useful in my new position as it was in my old one.


    Eventually everyone was in their seats, and thankfully silent.


    ¡°So, you all probably found out that I¡¯m no longer the Warden, instead I¡¯m now in charge of all of your training programs. If nobody told you, here it is. So, today, we¡¯re going to be introducing one of your new best friends for the next twelve months. If you¡¯ll turn your attention to the screen behind me.¡± Adrian


    I pressed a button on my clicker and activated the thing I¡¯ve been working on for the past few days.


    Behind me, the screen burst into life. It showed a long series of names, going from one to twenty.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°This, ladies and germs, is the eligibility board, your new best friend. This shows you your probability of getting inducted into the League of Heroes. As you¡¯ve probably noticed, there are only twenty slots. Suffice to say, not all of your are going to become Heroes. Most of you are going to become DSMIR agents, and again, anyone who isn¡¯t gonna spend a while with me. You should also remember, that these are probabilities, the guy in the number one slot may very well get traded for the bottom of the barrel, so remember that you can always look more appetizing. Constant improvement will help with that. Questions?¡± Adrian


    Someone in the back rose his hand.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Adrian


    ¡°Why are their only twenty slots? There¡¯s a lot more than twenty Heroes out there.¡± Man 1


    ¡°Good question. The thing is, only twenty Heroes this year have registered to take on Sidekicks. Not everyone out there want¡¯s to take on the inexperienced, and those that do usually already have their own sidekicks.¡± Adrian


    Another hand.


    ¡°I thought that Heroes had to have train a Sidekick at least once every five years or something?¡± Man 2


    ¡°The people in this room aren¡¯t the only Supers out there who want to join the League. A lot of Heroes prefer to take in former DSMIR agents, others help out with the Sidekick teams, meaning only a few decide to dip into the recruitment pool that is the Compound. Last question.¡± Adrian


    This time, it was a girl. She had a bored expression, no that¡¯s not right, it¡¯s more like an apathetic one. Odd.


    ¡°Why are we already ranked?¡± Girl 1


    ¡°Hmph, what, wanna be with the cool kids?¡± Teenage Boy


    She turned around and addressed the idiot who looked like a football player. If memory serves he¡¯s number seven, and he was also the one with the blue protective aura from the other day. Justin? I look back and confirm, yup, he¡¯s a Justin.


    ¡°No, you idiot, it¡¯s because I¡¯m ranked number five and I don¡¯t have a clue what my power even is yet.¡± Girl 1


    The response nearly made me laugh, simply because he realised at that moment that she was actually pretty. So, if her rank is five, that means her name is Caroline, Caroline Kent¡­


    I swear if she has enhancement abilities I am going to hurt God for his lack of imagination. I will hurt him brutally. I think the only reason that I didn¡¯t notice that earlier is because I pulled an all nighter two days ago.


    ¡°Hah! Your names Cara Kent!¡± Squeakers, Squeaky, whatever the hell I called him last, the dough ball!


    ¡°Shut up Squeakers!¡± Man 3


    ¡°MY NAME IS BRIAN!¡± Squeakers The Eternal Squeak


    Damn peanut gallery.


    ¡°Squeakers, the last time you tried this, you shat on my floor. Next time you shit yourself you¡¯re running a mile a day. And you, stop acknowledging the attention whore! Now, as for why you¡¯re already ranked, the answer is simple. Remember what I said during orientation, it¡¯s all about being powerful and pretty for induction, hence the predetermined slots. And before you all go nuts, I had Osus run all the data on that front, so I¡¯m not being biased. And power usually makes more of an impact than looks alone.¡± Adrian


    Actually that¡¯s a bit of a lie, Osus did about ninety percent of the work, but it required a baseline listing, which I provided. Other than that, it was mostly Osus¡¯ work that created this, but I still had a fairly influential part to play.


    ¡°Sexist.¡± Woman 1


    It was spoken in a mostly subdued tone, but I couldn¡¯t help but agree slightly. The list was using a straight male as the baseline, so of course the majority of the rankings were women. That¡¯d change in the future, of course. Power is usually more appealing than looks because of the mask, hiding distinguishable features, etc. I was a little surprised at how she said that despite how I was clearly favoring the women, but maybe this one is a legitimate feminist, and believes in gender equality.


    ¡°Girls are prettier than guys, so why are men on the list?¡± Woman 1


    Hahhh~, of fucking course. Dash my hopes for gender equality, why don¡¯t ya? At least wait till I¡¯m out of earshot.


    Thankfully for her, it would seem I was the only one who heard that comment.


    ¡°So, next, all of you are going to be meeting with your personal trainers. They¡¯ll be in charge of getting all of you in decent physical shape, or better shape, whatever the case may be. Last names A-F, go over there¡­¡± Adrian


    I then started dispersing the crowd, putting everyone in their own neat little spaces to make it easier for the PTs to find them. The whole process took longer than I¡¯d have liked, but it could have been worse. When it was all said and done, and the whole room was filled with mostly mindless chatter, I clapped my hands to get everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Now, onto some closing matters. Firstly, as I¡¯m now in charge of training all of you, I¡¯m technically no longer the warden. I do not know who is going to replace me on that front, all I know is that they are going to be powerful, and you shouldn¡¯t piss them off, I¡¯m looking at you Squeakers. Secondly, you all know those computer terminals in your quarters? Some of you have used them some of you haven¡¯t, it doesn¡¯t matter, they¡¯re for your personal use, however, Osus does actively monitor it.¡± Adrian


    At this, I could see some people look disgusted or pale faced. After all, they now think that their every little action is being watched by the entire compound.


    ¡°Other than that, it is private. The only way I would be able to view it is when Osus sees you doing something potentially dangerous for yourself or others, and alerts me as such. Nobody, and I mean nobody, is watching you. And Osus? She¡¯s not an AI, she¡¯s not intelligent enough to have opinions of people, so calm down.¡± Adrian


    Most of the people in the room did as I instructed, but a few still looked uncomfortable, those ones are either smarter than the rest or have things to hide. I was telling the truth, my clearance doesn¡¯t allow me to invade their privacy, however, I do have a degree of control over what Osus deems as ¡°Dangerous.¡± But it¡¯s not like I abuse that, I just use it on certain things I deem self important.


    ¡°Thirdly, beginning next month, your combat training will begin. It will switch daily with your Superpower training.¡± Adrian


    This was more for the PTs than the Trainees. A flaw I saw in the scheduling my predecessor created was a fatal lack of combat and weapons training. I¡¯ll be rectifying that.


    ¡°Once we begin combat training, there will be mandatory duels scheduled to occur every two weeks. They will help to keep a constant gauge on everyone¡¯s rank. The first half will be dedicated simply to non-powered combat ability, while the second half allows for the use of powers.¡± Adrian


    That got some bobbing heads and a few disbelieving looks. Ah, yes, the divide between sensibility and a lack thereof. Just wait until those pale faced people turn into combat addicts. Dr. Palmer seems to think that Superhumans all have a greater disposition to violence, and I¡¯d have to agree.


    ¡°Finally, every two months there will be training missions. These missions will interchange regularly between solo missions with oversight from a volunteering Hero, and team missions which are usually led by Heroes.¡± Adrian


    That got the Trainee¡¯s attention. How unsurprising. Everyone has been taught over the ever since the mid nineties that the Heroes were like Gods among men, the celebrities that celebrities drool over, and I just told that they¡¯d be working with them.


    I can¡¯t wait until that sense of veneration turns into disappointment once they realize that Heroes are people too.


    And people are annoying as shit half the time.


    ¡°Welp, all of you are now going to begin your training regimens, which are according to what your PTs decide. Start stirring trouble, and I will put you through hell, understood? Great, see ya!¡± Adrian


    I quickly made my escape. Despite all of my training and utter lack of fear in the face of death, I¡¯ve always been terrible at being the center of attention for more than fifty strangers when my mind is bereft of negative emotions, like anger, or annoyance, or anger, or fury, or anger.


    I have a lot of anger in my system, alright? It¡¯s not like it¡¯s my fault, anyways.


    In no time at all I¡¯m walking back to my suspended home by way of the catwalk. I hear one of the Convicts start knocking his cube in a rhythmic way, but I don¡¯t pay it much mind. None of the Supers in here have anything similar to a sound based power, and I would make quick work of it otherwise.


    I still air on the side of caution, and before I even get inside my home all of the convicts in their cubes are unconscious or wishing they were. As I enter, I stagger. Oh yeah, that may have been a mistake. The rush¡­ I shake my head, and take a look in a mirror. My skin has turned sinister, a deathly white, the scar on my cheek almost looked like it was dribbling puss, and my sunken eyes glowed with a green light. I shook my head again, I¡¯m not a monster.


    ...yUo ARe...


    I¡¯m not! I let out a grunt as I hit the wall by the mirror, pain striking at my eyes and instantly tears are pouring out of them. When my sight had cleared up, I was normal looking again. Just a normal looking human, that¡¯s right, not a monster.


    I heard a faint giggle, and I whirled around, looking everywhere, but seeing nothing. I ended up just shaking my head again as I fought off the after effects of using my power.


    I slumped down against the wall, wiping my forehead clear of the sweat I hadn¡¯t realized had already started trickling down my forehead.


    This is going to be a long night.