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“First, you must discover what your abilities are, Jim,” said Brant.
The man looked no older than thirty, but spoke with the commanding air of a man twice his age. As it turned out, he was closer to a hundred and sixty years old. His light brown hair was cut short with a razor-sharp part. His skin was tan, making his gray eyes stand out, and he wore a very expensive looking blue suit.
They sat in the conference room at HQ. A mahogany table, surrounded by high-backed black leather chairs, filled the center of the room. Around the outside, huge computer monitors lined every wall.
“Uh – well,” said Jim, “Other than the fact that I seem to have a photographic memory lately, not much.”
“That’s standard among all of us,” said Brant. “Anything else?”
“Well, ever since I got back, I’ve found I can bowl really well. I mean, really, really well. A three hundred each of the four times I’ve gone.”
Brant scowled. “Hmm. Well, it’s a start. What else?”
“Well, I have no idea!” said Jim. “I only just found out that I’m a superhero, okay!”
“Jim, your response is typical, my man,” said Austin. He looked considerably different all clean-shaven, except for a trim goatee, and his head shaven clean as well. He wore a simple white t-shirt and black jeans. He was more trim than before, like he’d been working out. His voice was like hot fudge. “Thing is, we don’t have time to ease you into this, brother.”
“Why not?”
“The Red Death – they’re planning something, and we have to stop them,” said Anna.
“Well, is there some kind of test or something? Some way to figure out my special powers?” asked Jim.
“As a matter of fact there is,” said Brant. “We just wanted a baseline. Apparently – bowling – is the baseline.”
Austin stood. “Come on – we’ll take you to the testing room, establish your – uh – aptitude, and then introduce you to Greta and the twins.”
Jim followed Austin down a wide corridor lit every several yards with glowing blue rods that ran from floor to ceiling and across the top as well, like a series of shimmering doorways.
“Nice place you have here,” said Jim.
“We’re well-funded,” said Austin. “We’ve got decades and decades of combined experience and wealth at our disposal.”
“I guess you do,” said Jim.
“Let’s put it this way,” said Austin, “if we weren’t a top-secret organization, we’d be a Fortune 100 company.”
“Heh – making what – superhero capes?”
Austin didn’t seem to think that was very funny. “More like solving the energy crisis, ending world hunger, developing nanocomputers and matter-energy conversion technology. But instead,” he said, keying in a code and pulling open the door to the testing room, “we’re a little busy saving the world from a bunch of idiots who are bent on world domination.”
“I’m confused,” said Jim, “why did they do all those things – the terrorist attacks, the stock market crashes – if they want to rule the world?”
“Each act is part of an orchestrated plan – a grand scheme they put in place decades ago. Of course, they have to keep making course corrections as we intervene. It’s quite a battle you’ve joined, my friend.”
“What’s the next move?”
“That depends,” said Austin, entering a few commands into a computer console in the wall, “in part, on you. Let’s find out what you’re made of.”
Jim figured out that he was supposed to sit in the only chair in the room – a swiveling stool in the center.
“Ready?” asked Austin.
“I have no idea,” said Jim with a nervous smile.
Austin seemed to disappear as the room went dark and the walls were replaced by a three hundred and sixty degree holographic image. Jim found himself in a recreation of a place that had haunted his dreams for the past six months. The fake Earth the aliens had taken them to.
He heard a voice in his head.
A familiar voice.
Hello, Jim. Don’t be alarmed. It’s me, Anna. First thing you should know is, all of us are telepathic. This is a great strength, but also a liability, if you don’t learn to control it, and to shield your thoughts.
“Okay,” Jim said vocally.
Now try that again – this time with your mind. Remember how easy it was back at the zoo.
The zoo – so that’s what they decided to call the fake Earth environment created by the Yoo-Mynh Enclave.
I like that – the zoo.
All right now, Jim, I want you to shut me out for ten seconds. Close off your mind. Begin now.
Jim wasn’t sure what to do, so he just focused on trying to put up black walls around his mind. After a few seconds, he stopped, and Anna’s voice returned.
Not bad, Jim. A little crude, but an effective first attempt. Now we’ll move on to some other – more challenging things. We’re going to test your telekinetic abilities, and, uh, a few things we had to make up names for.
After a full battery of tests, Jim was exhausted. But he’d learned a lot. A lot about himself, and about the group.
And his mind was blown.
Red Death Page 4