The Accidental Hero

by Matt Myklusch

  Jack’s eyes brightened. “But now you have proof that I’m not a Rüstov spy? Will it be proof enough for Mr. Smart?”

  Virtua shook her head. “Any proof of mine will have little use beyond political cover. Jonas won’t trust my tests. He won’t trust any machine he didn’t build.”

  Jack held out hope. “Other people might trust your tests, though, right?” he asked.

  Virtua shrugged and gave Jack a pained look. “Who knows? I’m a Mecha, Jack. Just like the Great Collaborator.” Virtua gestured to a portrait on the wall. It was a digital image of herself standing in Hero Square alongside the Imagine Nation’s most infamous Mecha traitor. Jack recognized his picture from Smart’s book.

  “You knew the Great Collaborator?” Jack asked, getting up to look at the portrait.

  Virtua’s glow dimmed. “I choose not to remember him that way, but yes. I knew him. Silico was my very good friend. I can only hang this picture in cyberspace. People in the outside world wouldn’t understand. But I keep it to honor the memory of my friend, regardless of what other people may think of him.”

  “Why did he do it?” Jack asked. “Why did he betray the Imagine Nation?”

  “That is a good question,” Virtua said. “I’m not sure I have an answer for you. To the Rüstov, Mechas are just scrap metal. They think of us as little more than spare parts, not equals, and certainly not allies.” Virtua shook her head, frustrated. “Sadly, no one cared about that after the invasion. Jonas Smart killed Silico, the Great Mecha Collaborator. That was the only story people cared to hear, and the only one Jonas cared to tell.”

  Jack thought about the danger that Virtua put herself in by keeping this picture, even if it was just in cyberspace. “Why are you showing me this?” he asked her.

  “Because I wanted you to see that I stand by my friends, come what may,” Virtua told Jack. “No matter what others might say about people, I remain a free thinker. I make up my own mind. We came here to talk of truth, trust, and the Rüstov. Since the invasion, I have seen very little of each. But your presence here is changing things.”

  “I don’t understand,” Jack said. “What do you mean?”

  “I think you are part of something we cannot yet completely comprehend,” Virtua replied. “And I believe that the Rüstov threat is more real than it is rumor. But I don’t believe you are conspiring with the enemy any more than I believe Silico was a traitor.” Virtua paused to gaze upon the picture of her long lost friend. “Mark my words, Jack…the real Great Collaborator is still out there.”

  CHAPTER

  11

  Wrekzaw Isle

  Jack stood at a window in the Ivory Tower watching another superfight going on outside. It was hard to say what surprised Jack more: seeing his comic book heroes in real life, or the fact that he was getting used to it. He barely even flinched when one of the fighters, a glowing woman, was thrown right into his window. A being made of pure light, she rebounded harmlessly off the reinforced glass. Before Jack could worry if she was okay, she zapped back into battle as Blue called Jack down for dinner, telling him that Jazen was almost finished cooking.

  Jack hurried down. As usual, Jazen had made a sumptuous feast, cooked with spices that Jack’s nose had never smelled before. “Pan-seared scissor shark steaks, fresh from the fish farms of Atlantis,” Jazen announced as he set down the plates.

  “Let’s do this,” Blue said, rubbing his hands together as he sat down at the table. He took a bite and melted into his chair. He was in heaven. “I tell ya, I’ll never understand how someone with no taste buds can cook this good.”

  “Watch out, Jack,” Jazen said as he sat down with Jack and Blue. “If you’re not careful, Blue here will be digging into your plate for seconds before you even get started.”

  “You know, I don’t need to come here to be abused,” Blue said. “I’ve got supercriminals out there for that.”

  “Speaking of which, was that another superfight I heard hit our window?” Jazen asked.

  “The tower shields took care of it,” Jack said with his mouth full.

  “Anyone you recognized, big guy?” Blue asked.

  “Actually, yeah—it looked like Laser Girl,” Jack guessed, recalling a heroine from his old comic book collection. Jazen raised his head to look out the window. The fight was moving farther away, but his robotic eyeballs made a whirring sound as they zoomed in, tracking the action across the city’s skyline. “It is Laser Girl,” Jazen confirmed. “Good eye, Jack.”

  “Who’s that she’s fighting?” Jack asked.

  “I don’t recognize him,” Jazen said.

  “Probably someone doing something they shouldn’t,” Blue said. “I swear, every time I turn around, someone’s trying to take over something. Trouble is, every time we lock ’em up, they always end up breaking out sooner or later. Is it like that where you come from, Jack?”

  Jack nodded. “It is in the comics,” he said. It came as no surprise that Empire City’s heroes and villains constantly tumbled through the sky in battle. It was exactly like that in Jack’s comic books. Every day, heroes were hard at work trying to stop villains from extinguishing the sun, reversing the earth’s magnetic poles, or conquering the surface world with an army of subterranean molemen. It was hard to keep track of it all.

  “Don’t get me wrong, Jack, I don’t mind having to go catch a bad guy two or even three times,” Blue said. “I just can’t stand all the paperwork that goes with the job.” Blue looked at his watch and grumbled. “Hate to eat and run, guys, but I’m going to be late,” he said, forcing an entire scissor shark steak into his mouth at once.

  Jack quickly wolfed down the rest of his dinner to try to keep up with Blue. He had places to go too, and Blue was dropping him and Jazen off on his way to the police station.

  Jack had another School of Thought test scheduled for that evening, a test he was greatly looking forward to, because it was being taught by the hero of Unreal Tales #42. Jack’s head spun like a top as Blue’s HoverCar flew over the streets of Empire City’s alien borough. Jack was getting used to the idea of seeing superheroes on every street corner, but Galaxis was something else entirely. Galaxis was the traveler’s hub for the Milky Way galaxy, and nothing prepares you for the first time you see an intergalactic spaceport up close.

  Galaxis was on the cliff side of Empire City, right next to Hero Square. Launch pads lined the edge of the floating island, and aliens of every shape, size, and color were hurrying back and forth between crowded stargates. Rocket ships and flying saucers took off and landed without pause, space freighters eased in and out of HoverDocks, and starfighters blasted off into the cosmos. Galaxis was a hotbed of extraterrestrial activity, filled with space-faring Calculans, Draconians, Radians, and, of course, Valorians like the one Jack was on his way to see.

  The aliens of Galaxis were so focused on their own comings and goings that they would have overlooked Jack completely if not for the SmartCams that followed him everywhere he went. As images of Jack popped up on NewsNets throughout the borough, all-too-familiar looks of fear and scorn were cast in Jack’s direction once more. Jack hated those SmartCams. Always watching him, always putting his Rüstov infection between him and everyone else. The star-crossed travelers of Galaxis knew of the Rüstov long before any Earth-born residents of the Imagine Nation. They knew the enemy better than anyone. They knew to fear the Rüstov inside Jack.

  Things were different in the house of Prime. Back in the sphere, Prime had told his fellow Circlemen that the sons of Valor knew no fear. As Jack entered the headquarters of the Valorian Guard, he found out that was true.

  Inside the Valorian’s dome-shaped garrison, Jack encountered a legion of silver-skinned soldiers. They stood watch at every door and marched through the halls with a proud military gait. Confidence oozed from their lustrous metal pores. They looked at Jack without fear or contempt. He was a person who had business with their leader, nothing more. At the main interior gate a guard in a blue form-fitti
ng supersuit stepped forward. “Jack Blank,” he said matter-of-factly. “I am to escort you to the Valorian Prime. Follow me.”

  The guard simply led Jack and Jazen up to the very top of the dome and out onto a roof deck. There, waiting in the cool evening air, stood Prime. Jack’s escort snapped to attention, raising a fist to his heart in the Valorian salute. Prime returned the motion, and the guard flew off into the night, leaving Jack to his lesson.

  Jack wasn’t the first student to arrive that night. As Prime crossed the roof to greet him, Jack noticed Allegra standing at the far end. Like Prime, her gleaming argent skin reflected all the lights of the Galaxis night sky, but the similarities between the two seemed to end there. Prime came across as influential and strong. He walked with willful purpose, carrying himself like a general.

  “Good evening and welcome, candidate Blank,” Prime said. “It pleases me to see you advancing through our program. I was afraid I might not get the opportunity to test you here tonight.”

  “It’s good to be here,” Jack replied. “I don’t know if we can really say I’m advancing through the program yet, though. I’ve only got one vote so far. The other two are still undecided.”

  “Better undecided than decidedly against you,” Prime told Jack.

  Jack agreed that was true, but at this point he wasn’t even 100 percent sure what he was being tested on anymore. He told Prime about Smart’s extra tests, including how he’d spent the entire morning in a high-powered centrifuge, rocketing around in a circle at five hundred miles per hour.

  “My test will be much more straightforward,” Prime assured him. “Here we test for one thing only, an indispensable quality shared by every hero, everywhere: courage.”

  Jack asked Prime if he knew anything about his comic book alter ego. Were his exploits in the pages of Unreal Tales true? Did he really fight the Rüstov out there in space? Did he ever fight off a Rüstov infection?

  Prime smiled. “Many an artist and writer have come to this island over the years, son. When they come, they want to know everything. When they leave, they pretend that they do. They tell stories.” Prime patted Jack’s shoulder. “They embellish.”

  While they waited for Skerren to arrive, Prime told Jack that he and his men were once universal defenders of all planets who could not defend themselves. Earlier, when Jack had guessed that Prime seemed like a general, he wasn’t far off. Prime was more than a superhero code name—it was his title as a commander of the Valorian Guard. He wore the same blue uniform as his men did, save for the addition of a white circle with black lines in the center of his chest, signifying his rank. The Valorians were a dignified, brave, and mighty people. They were also all but extinct.

  Many years ago, Prime’s home world of Valor had been destroyed by the Rüstov. Prime and his battalion had been off-world when it happened, answering the distress call of an allied space colony. The call had been a ruse perpetrated by the Rüstov to draw out Valor’s defenses while the Rüstov Armada laid siege to the planet. By the time Prime’s men had returned, there was nothing left to defend. Valor had been wiped out. Prime had organized the remaining Valorian forces and led them after the Rüstov. They had followed the Rüstov all the way to Earth, arriving just in time to fight in the Battle of Empire City.

  “I want you to know that while I have every reason to hate the Rüstov, I don’t group you in with them,” Prime told Jack. “Infection or no, you had nothing to do with what happened to my planet. I won’t hold their actions against you.”

  Jack was incredibly appreciative of Prime’s fairmindedness. It was very refreshing, and especially gracious given his tragic and bloody history with the Rüstov.

  “Are you and your men the only Valorians left?” Jack asked.

  “We used to think so, but then one day Allegra arrived here on a refugee ship. That is reason enough to hope that other sons and daughters of Valor are still out there. If fortune smiles upon us and we are reunited, my men and I will teach them of their Valorian culture and history, just as we are trying to do with Allegra.”

  Jazen asked Jack to go wait with Allegra while he spoke privately with Prime. Jack walked over to where Allegra was standing and took in the view from the roof. Galaxis was futuristic in a different way from Hightown. It had more flavor. Alien architecture was very creative, and the buildings were multicolored and designed in irregular shapes. Orbs, pyramids, and other geometric figures lit up the skyline with a variety of bright metallic shades.

  When Skerren arrived, Jack was surprised to see his king was with him. Hovarth lumbered onto the roof, letting out an unfriendly grunt as he passed by Jack. He was a grizzled mountain of a man, more than seven feet tall and at least three hundred pounds in weight, most of it muscle. He had a beard as thick as steel wool and a fur cloak that was even thicker. The iron battle-ax he carried was as tall as Jack.

  Hovarth announced his intention to join his test with Prime’s, as they were both looking to see the exact same thing from the candidates: courage, or as Hovarth liked to call it, heart. Jack was actually relieved to hear that, considering Hovarth had voted against him back in the sphere. Jack had figured that when the time came, he’d go into Hovarth’s test with two strikes against him. If Hovarth and Prime’s test were going to be one and the same, he could trust it to be fair. Still, Jack was surprised Hovarth would agree to test the students in Prime’s futuristic borough. Sure enough, the Circlemen soon revealed that the test would not take place in Galaxis at all.

  “What do you mean?” Allegra asked. “Where are we going?”

  “There,” Prime said, pointing out across the waterfalls. “Wrekzaw Isle.” Jack followed Prime’s pointing finger. Floating in the air over the rushing water was a charred hunk of rusted metal and jagged rock.

  “Wrekzaw Isle?” Skerren exclaimed, unable to hide his surprise.

  “Not Wrekzaw Isle…” Allegra groaned.

  “What’s Wrekzaw Isle?” Jack asked.

  “Get in,” Prime said, motioning toward an Air-Speeder waiting on the roof, ready to fly. “We’ll tell you on the way.”

  As the group raced over the chasm that separated the Imagine Nation from the open sea, Prime explained that Wrekzaw Isle was the spot where the Rüstov mothership had crashed twelve years ago, effectively ending the Battle of Empire City. After Legend had flown Revile into the ship’s main engine, it had dropped like a stone and collided with a rocky outcropping on the cliffs at the city limits. The ship had exploded with enough force to break off an entire piece of the island, and burned with enough heat to melt its way around it permanently. The result was Wrekzaw Isle, an unusable, abandoned landmass that orbited the Imagine Nation like a ghost ship.

  “If you three make it to the School of Thought, I will teach you everything I know about space travel and galactic warfare,” Prime told the children. “About capital ships, starfighters, and infantry troop deployments. About alien science, starmaps, and wormholes.”

  “And I will make you strong,” Hovarth added. “Other Circlemen will no doubt tell you that knowledge is power. I say power is power. You all have your own special abilities. They are not enough. You must train and learn combat. Hand-to-hand fighting! Tactical ability! Endurance! Those of you who pass this test… we’ll find out just how powerful you can be.” Hovarth poked Jack in the chest and Jack coughed. It felt like someone had jabbed him with the skinny end of a baseball bat.

  “But first, you must show your courage and face the fear that everyone in the Imagine Nation seems content to live with, especially lately—fear of the Rüstov,” Prime said. “You must spend the night here on Wrekzaw Isle.”

  “Spend the night?” Allegra cried. “Alone?”

  Prime nodded, and Skerren stifled a laugh. “Just one night?” he asked. “That’s all?”

  Allegra’s skin rippled. “Shut up,” she told Skerren. “That’s plenty!”

  Jack was looking around quietly as Prime’s men set the AirSpeeder down on a clearing in the middle of the f
loating wasteland. This place gave him the chills. Wrekzaw Isle was a fearsome mass of twisted metal fused with hard stone. Dirty orange rust covered the saw-toothed edges of shrapnel and debris that were literally everywhere. Old wires and tubing sprouted out of the ground like weeds, and the imprints of overloaded circuits were burned into the landscape. A massive crater in the ground told the story of the battlefield, marking the path that Legend had forced Revile down so many years ago.

  “Is it true that Rüstov soldiers are still hanging around here?” Jack asked.

  “Many Rüstov were rumored to be left behind after the invasion, hiding out right where you three are standing, tunneled deep in the heart of Wrekzaw Isle,” Hovarth said. “Who can say for sure?”

  Maybe it was true, maybe it wasn’t. Either way, Allegra didn’t like being there one bit. Jazen told her not to worry. “Revile’s grave is the safest place on Wrekzaw Isle,” he whispered. “Left-Behinds don’t like to go anywhere near it. At least, not usually.”

  “We’re at Revile’s grave?” Jack asked, decidedly not reassured.

  “That is correct,” Prime replied. “And if you want to pass our test, this is where you will spend the entire night.” Prime handed each of the children little remote controls to wear around their necks. “These are distress call beacons,” he explained. “If at any point in the night this becomes too much for you, simply press that button and all of this will end.” Prime looked each child in the eye. “All of it.”

  Jack tucked his beacon inside his shirt. Under no circumstances was he going to press that button. He understood that doing so would mean more than just the end of this field trip—it would mean the end of his chances at the School of Thought. He told himself that there were probably no Rüstov around, anyway. Jazen paced the landing area with two fingers pressed against his temple, scanning the area with those robotic eyes of his. When he was through, he nodded to Prime, which Jack hoped meant “all clear.”

  “Farewell, candidates,” Hovarth said, stepping back onto the AirSpeeder with Prime. “I hope to see you all at first light and not a moment before.”