Planet Hero- Civilian

by M. A. Carlson

  “Earth? We haven’t called our planet that since Pre-Advent,” Ward said with an amused grin.

  “Then what do you call it?” I asked.

  Ward grinned, and then with a great amount of pride, he put his hands on his hips and struck a pose, then stated loudly and clearly, “Planet Hero!”

  4

  The main conference room of the New Haven Fortress City Hero Association was situated deep underneath the association’s headquarters, the tallest building in New Haven and positioned in the very center of the fortress city. While the building stood out as a beacon of justice and hope, it was targeted on too regular a basis to place anything of real importance above ground. Within the main conference room were the six members of the council of heroes, three permanent members and three rotational members. Plus, for this meeting, a single guest sat watching and listening to the casual questioning of the young man now identified as Davis Malory, trying to decide what was to be done with him.

  Major Miracle, a hero that had reached the 87th Milestone, was a permanent member of the council and current leader of the New Haven Fortress City Hero Association. He leaned slightly forward and pressed a button to mute the speakers, silencing the interrogation. Major Miracle was tall and broad-shouldered. He appeared as if he was about to burst out of the crimson body suit that covered him from his hairline to his feet. And emblazoned on his chest was a bright yellow circle with a crimson ‘M’ in the middle. He was also currently considered to be the strongest hero in New Haven, his ability to fly and his super strength made him something of a paragon within the community. He looked to the other members of the current council one at a time then asked, “Thoughts?”

  Mental Star answered, “I don’t sense any falsehoods, only confusion and a little fear. I would need to get closer to do a more thorough scan.” She was lithe and wore a silver bodysuit with an ‘M’ fashioned out of stars. She had achieved the 81st Milestone, so not as powerful as Major Miracle but still exceptionally powerful. This woman was something of a mystery to the city of New Haven. The legends say she simply appeared one day, fully grown, and immediately put an army of villains to sleep with a thought. That wasn’t actually what happened, but she never bothered to correct anyone. She also quite enjoyed the air of mystery that surrounded her. And though her ability to read thoughts was well developed, her telekinetic skills were more so, not that anyone knew that, which was just how she liked it.

  Para-Hypno added his two unwanted cents to the conversation, “It’s too convenient. Dr. Portal dies and is replaced by a doppelganger from another world. Give me an hour and I’ll break him. We’ll get to the truth then.” Para-Hypno was in his 58th Milestone, though unlike the others at the table, he preferred an unkempt look, black bodysuit covered by a brown trench coat and brown fedora on his head. He was what was known as an investigative type. His ability to turn into a nearly invisible apparition made it rather easy for him to enter into places that others could not. His ability to hypnotize others made it even easier for him to gather information and then be forgotten afterwards. He was not a permanent member of the council, his presence, like the two other rotational members, was due to being randomly selected from those of a sufficiently high level.

  “For all we know, he’s completely innocent,” Private Eye Light stated loudly. “Your illusions and hypnotic suggestions might be . . . acceptable on criminals, but this man isn’t one.” Private Eye Light was also an investigative type of hero, though considerably less well known. He relied on old fashioned detective work, running down leads, following the clues. His powers were not well suited for that kind of work, but he made do.

  “Not yet,” Para-Hypno retorted. “And who said you could speak in here. Last I checked, you weren’t part of the council Sparkle Fingers.”

  “Remind me, is Para short for Paranormal or Paranoid?” Light quipped, feeling annoyed and earning a chuckle from several of the members at the table.

  “Calm down you two,” Major Miracle ordered, silencing the pair instantly. “Para, we don’t yet know if he’s a criminal or a trick from Dr. Portal. And Light, we don’t yet know that he isn’t.”

  Para-Hypno looked like he was going to retort but held back after a slight glare from the Major.

  “I understand that, I just don’t want to see him hurt unnecessarily until that can be established,” Light said calmly.

  “And he won’t be,” Major Miracle promised. “That said, we do need to do our due diligence and make sure he doesn’t pose a threat.”

  “Do we know his powers yet?” Wet Work asked, the gills on the 85th Milestone’s neck struggled with the atmosphere. He spritzed his neck and face with a water from a small bottle he pulled from the belt of his dark navy wet suit. Wet Work was well known for his work in anything to do with water, whether it was the various rivers that ran through the wilds and the city, or the scattered lakes and oceans. When it came to water, he was the man to ask for help, not just in New Haven but across the globe. He was the third and final permanent member of the council.

  Mechanic Parts answered, “No, the suppressor is set to maximum. He might be able to see his own status, but we can’t get a read on it while he’s still being confined so tightly.” The 56th Milestone man was the only one at the table that wore street clothes, a pair of overalls and a white t-shirt, both of which were smeared with the occasional grease or oil stain. He was another of the rotational council members. He was also an exception as he was not a hero, not even a retired hero, just a failed sidekick. He was selected to sit on the council due to his Milestone being the highest among his peers, and because no one else within his categorization had a suitable Milestone to be able to sit on the council.

  “Says the only non-Hero at the table,” Hammer Jack grumbled. The 50th Milestone hero wore a grey bodysuit with the outline of a jackhammer on the front with an ‘HJ’ inside the outline. Hammer was nearly as large as Major Miracle, but he lacked any finesse or subtlety. He was a blunt instrument, which sometimes you needed to fight villains. His power allowed him to create vibrations, something he used to power his weapons of choice, two jackhammers that he wore like gloves. Anyway, his spot on the council was luck of the draw and in a few months, he would vacate his seat and another hero would replace him, hopefully one with a little more than just brute strength.

  “If you want me to fix those stupid jackhammers of yours the next time they break, then you’ll keep your trap shut,” Mechanic snapped back. He was a Nano-Engineer, which meant he designed and constructed weapons, tools, and other various equipment for the heroes to use. Once upon a time, Mechanic was in line to become a hero. He was a sidekick to the Machine Maker, a hero known for building all kinds of automatons to fight villains. Then a villain killed him. After that, Mechanic just didn’t have the heart to go on in the hero program.

  “There are other Nano-Engineers, maybe I’ll take my business to them next time,” Hammer replied.

  “Be my guest,” Mechanic replied. “See how long your toys last after you try that. Just don’t come crying to me afterward.”

  “Enough,” Major Miracle said loudly, scowling at the pair. “Focus on the matter at hand. Para, what are the villains saying?”

  “My sources tell me they are looking for Dr. Portal in a bad way. That power supply heist really made someone angry,” Para-Hypno answered. “Which is why I think that,” he paused to point at the screen, “is just an act. Dr. Portal must have known someone else wanted that power supply. What better way to get them off his back than to fake his death and pretend to be someone from another dimension.”

  “That seems really convoluted,” Light commented, hopefully expressing an appropriate amount of doubt.

  “He’s a villain, of course it’s convoluted,” Para snapped back. “It’s what they do!”

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Para might have a point,” Mechanic said, rubbing his temples. “I hate villains, bunch of insane people.”

  Major Miracle sighed, th
en looking at Para-Hypno, he said, “For now, focus on finding out who wanted that power supply and why.”

  Para-Hypno scoffed but nodded his agreement.

  “What can I do?” Light asked, he was by far the weakest Hero at the table. “I know I was only allowed to sit in this meeting due to my being there during the incident and for the initial questioning, but I want to help if I can.”

  Major Miracle studied Private Eye Light, then shifted his gaze to look at the rest of the council members gathered at the table before speaking. “Mechanic, go ahead and lower the restrictions just enough so Mental Star can complete a clean scan, I think she should speak to him next. While you’re at it, and if you can, lower it just enough to get a power-scan. Any objections?”

  Light frowned, feeling like he was being excluded. Even though he was a member of the Hero Association, he was an independent hero and at a much lower Milestone than the others, it was to be expected.

  “Assuming everything comes up clean, Private Eye Light, you can help him acclimate to the new world he’s in,” Major Miracle said. “But keep him in the building, at least until we’ve concluded our investigation.”

  Light’s frown reversed and he nodded once. This was his chance to really help the council. To get his name known by the higher ups. And if he did a good job, there was a good chance they would involve him more in the future. “Yes sir!” Light all but shouted.

  5

  My hand flew up to my nose to scratch it the instant the contraption that held me captive was disengaged. “Oh, thank God. I needed that,” I said, feeling instant relief. Then came the stretching of my neck, the rolling of my shoulders, and then the twisting and bending every which way to get the rest of my body moving again.

  The man that introduced himself as Private Eye Light minutes earlier smiled then said, “Sorry for that, but your situation is rather unique. With shapeshifters, cloners, and the multitude of available powers, one can never be too safe.” He was tall, though not quite as tall as me. He wore a gold colored trench coat with an attached hood, though it laid back. He wore a simple mask over his eyes, but it didn’t do anything to hide his youthful appearance or the nearly glowing blonde hair on top of his head. Below the trench coat I caught a glimpse of a simple white bodysuit and golden boots. He looked like something out of a comic book, though that wasn’t saying much. Ward and Mental Star also both looked like they should have been in the pages of a comic book and not walking the streets.

  I wanted to say I understood, but I really didn’t. I didn’t understand much about this world, even after talking to Ward and then that woman Mental Star over the last couple hours. Well, more talking to Ward. Star didn’t really say anything, she just kind of sat down next to me and smiled. It was super awkward. I talked . . . a lot . . . and she didn’t even twitch until she just got up, nodded to me, and then left me alone again. Oh, and some guy that looked like a mechanic came right after Ward but before Star. It was just for a minute and he did something to my bed. He didn’t say anything, but I assumed that he was just a mechanic or a rather dirty and greasy looking orderly.

  It was a little while later Light entered the room. He inserted a key into my bed and a few minutes later I was free.

  “Feeling better?” Light asked after I stopped stretching.

  “Yeah, I think so,” I said. I half expected my knee to ache after being so stationary for so long. In fact, nothing hurt . . . like, nothing. Curious, I may have glanced at my new status bar, specifically my health . . . life bar, it was full still, not even a sliver missing. It made me wonder if the Nano-virus fixed old injuries. If it did, then it made me wonder if I was out of a job.

  Light gave me a friendly smile and a nod. “That’s good. Now, I’m sure you have more questions, I have been assigned to help you acclimate to your new situation.”

  I nodded, that was probably a good thing. Who knew what kind of trouble I could cause if I had superpowers when they sent me home and I didn’t learn something about them now? Thinking of that, I asked, “How long before you can send me home? I mean, after you give me some basic training, so I don’t accidently end the world.”

  Light grimaced. I really didn’t like that grimace. “The thing is, we don’t have a way to send you home, or at least, not yet.”

  “What do you mean? This is a world of superpowered people. You can’t tell me you don’t have someone else able to create portals,” I protested, feeling panic starting to creep in.

  “We do have people with the ability to create portals, that’s true,” Light said quickly. “We just don’t know how Dr. Portal got to your world. We are investigating. Our best Nano-Engineers are working on it, even now.”

  “Nano-Engineers?” I asked. “Is that like a scientist? Preferably one that studies portals specifically?”

  “Sure,” Light answered, grimacing again, though this time he also looked slightly confused by my question.

  “I’m never going home, am I?” I asked.

  “We don’t know that yet,” Light replied. “But I promise, we are working on finding a way to send you home.”

  I supposed that would suffice for now.

  “Look, you’ve been cooped up for a while, how about we go for a walk? You can ask me questions and I’ll see what I can do to answer them?” Light suggested.

  I sighed. It wasn’t like I had any better options. “Lead the way.”

  It was actually kind of nice to walk. Light took me out to an atrium. It must have been in the center of the building, or I assumed it was. The rectangular garden and walking paths were surrounded on all sides by tall walls with windows, going up a dozen or more floors. It was nice as hospitals went.

  “I don’t recommend trying to fly out of here, there is an energy field over the top of the atrium to keep out birds,” Light said.

  “Killer birds?” I asked jokingly.

  “Not often, but better safe than sorry. Birds tend to avoid the fortress cities. They generally live in the wilds. But every now and then one will sneak in,” Light replied seriously.

  “Wait, you’re serious?” I asked.

  “Of course,” Light replied. “But mostly it’s a precaution to keep out any villains that think sneaking into the New Haven Fortress City’s Hero Association is a good idea.”

  What a backwards place. “And why would killer birds exist in the first place?” I questioned.

  “Nanos didn’t just change people,” Light replied.

  “Right, Nanos,” I said. I had a feeling there were going to be a lot of things explained away as ‘Nanos’ in the coming days.

  “I suppose that is a good place to start,” Light said. “How much did Ward tell you about Nanos?”

  “Not enough,” I said.

  “Alright, then I’ll start at the beginning,” Light said. “So, it all started with the Advent. We don’t know all the details, but at some point, in the past, an individual or a group developed a virus capable of fundamentally changing life at a cellular level. This killed most of the population on Hero while trying to force evolution. It also evolved plants, animals, insects, or any other life form you can name. It either perished or evolved. Those who survived found themselves suddenly blessed with new abilities and enhanced bodies. For a few hundred years it was like the wild east out there.”

  I wanted to ask about the ‘wild east’ comment, it was jarring. “Sorry to interrupt? Wild East?” I asked, hoping my face expressed the proper confusion.

  Light tilted his head slightly as if he too was confused. Then as if a light went off for him, he explained. “The wild east was a time of eastward expansion a few thousand years ago, back before the advent when gun duels were commonplace.”

  “Oh,” I said. I supposed it made sense that this world would have a different history. “Sorry, you were telling me about the advent. Please continue.”

  “Happy to help.” Light said before continuing where he left off. “Eventually, the first Major Miracle appeared. She was amazing. Unbelievabl
y powerful. She was what most consider to be the first real hero. She created the first Hero Association. Helped to build the first Fortress City to protect against the wilds. Without her . . . well, let’s just say life on Hero would have been wiped out a long time ago,” Light said, looking slightly solemn.

  “Anyway, with the Hero Association, things got better. There were still villains and evolved animals, but the heroes were able to keep them at bay. Suddenly, people were able to start living again. It wasn’t a battle to survive every day. People didn’t need to try to gain as many Nanos as they could in the hope to be strong enough to kill before being killed,” Light explained. “Eventually, more fortress cities were built. More people chose to don the cowl and be heroes. The result is the mostly peaceful lives we live today.”

  It was an interesting history lesson but didn’t tell me nearly enough about Nanos.

  “Okay, that’s the history of how we got to be here. Back to the Nanos,” Light said, redirecting. “Wild Nanos are everywhere and in pretty much everything. It’s in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Wild Nanos are just that, wild. It can’t be easily absorbed into the body. It must be tamed before it can be added to your Nano Colony.”

  “So, I can absorb it from water, food, and even the air, but I need to tame it . . . bring it under my control?” I asked.

  Light nodded thoughtfully, then answered, “Yes, but as a 1st Milestone, you probably won’t be able to cultivate more than one or two Nano per day, at least at first. Once you learn to properly cultivate it will get a lot easier.”

  “Cultivate?” I asked.

  “Wow, this is going to take some time,” Light said. “Okay, so, with some time and practice you will eventually be able to feel Nanos. Cultivating Nanos in the body is a matter of learning to feel the wild Nanos and then command those Nanos, essentially taming them and making them your own.”