by Jason Levine
“In any event, we soldiered on, but nothing seemed to make sense. Colonel Algitsh finally consented to supply us with one additional technician: a Mr. Darvin Shey. He was even younger and greener than we were. Quite honestly, he wasn’t much help but we took what we could get. Algitsh warned us that he expected concrete results within the week.”
William picked up his silverware again and ate more breakfast. He ate his last egg and the final bite of pancake before proceeding with his tale.
“On the final day of the week, we were just about to admit defeat. Every attempt to make sense of the sphere had ended in disaster. There was no rhyme or reason to the shifting lines. The metal resisted attempts to chip off pieces to analyze. It sat on the pedestal we had placed it on and seemed to be mocking us.
“We waited for the Colonel to meet us so we could tell him of our failure. We fully expected to be fired for this. Algitsh was due to arrive at 1pm. By 2pm, he still hadn’t shown. We called the main office and they said he had called in sick. We took this as a sign that we were getting a second chance.
“Sean warmed up the machines to get them ready for another battery of scans while I wrote down a few more theories to test. That’s when Darvin noticed it. There seemed to be a light coming from underneath the sphere. He picked it up and called us over. We gathered around it as he showed us a crack under the sphere. Now we had scanned this thing constantly and never once had seen anything like this. A yellowish glowing fog was flowing out of the crack. Sean ran to get a container so we could bottle some of it for testing.”
William stopped eating. He was looking at Murray, but Murray had the distinct impression that William didn’t even see him at that moment. William was staring at the far wall of the room as if he expected it to split apart.
“That’s when it happened. The sphere started humming and vibrating. The crack spread and the fog flowed out more. I shouted for Darvin to drop it but he couldn’t. It was affixed to his hands. Darvin looked at me with terror in his eyes. Sean ran back towards us to help.”
Tears welled in William’s eyes.
“The next part happened in a split second, but I remember all of it as if it took place in slow motion. The sphere didn’t so much explode as flew apart in pieces. Darvin screamed as the fog enveloped him. Then he was gone. The fog hit into me and, though it seemed like a gas, it felt completely solid. It pushed into me and I went flying across the room. I slammed into the far wall of the room. Though I tried to push myself back onto my feet, I didn’t have the strength and could feel myself losing consciousness. That’s when I saw Sean slam into an array of computer equipment. As I blacked out, I remember wondering why the fog seemed to take the shape of a hand.”
William wiped his eyes and placed his head in his hands.
“I came to with medical personnel surrounding me. Sean had already awoken. He was sitting on a bench fifty feet from me talking to some officers. His arm was in a sling and he had various cuts all over his face, but otherwise he looked fine. I struggled to sit up but pain shot through me.
“A nurse quickly rushed to my side and gently held me down. She explained that I had broken two ribs, one of my legs, and had a concussion. It could have been worse, though. Apparently, whatever was in that sphere had exploded. Our entire lab had burned to the ground. They couldn’t even find a shred of Darvin to identify. Poor guy was completely disintegrated by the blast.”
William removed his hands, tears were streaming down his cheeks. He wiped them away and took a deep breath to compose himself.
“Algitsh showed up the next day in the hospital. He demanded that we not tell anyone what happened or he would ruin us. He threatened us with being tried as traitors for destroying valuable military property. We were blamed for the whole thing. The story was spread that we were two clumsy individuals out of our depth who messed up a simple examination. Our findings were discounted as lies intended to further our career. There were even whispers that we had engineered the explosion ourselves to both cover our tracks and to murder Darvin because he was going to expose us. No charges were ever filed, mind you, but idle gossip doesn’t need facts to spread. It was quite an eye opening experience.”
William picked up his silverware again but didn’t eat.
“After our recovery, we left the military for civilian work. It wasn’t long after that that our powers showed up. We first wondered if we should contact our old boss for his help, but by that point we were wiser. We knew that Algitsh would only look at how he could weaponize us. He wouldn’t hesitate to dissect us if he felt it would advance his career. So we kept our new abilities secret. We tried them out in private, documenting what we could do but never going public with what we were capable of lest Algitsh show up at our door with armed guards to take us into custody.
“Over time, we found more people who had developed abilities. We helped them come to grips with their literally changed reality and aided them in staying hidden from those who would see them as lab rats to be studied.”
William started eating again. He finished his last bites of breakfast and set down his utensils.
“And that is why Heidi can’t use her abilities in public. If any of us did that, we’d all be put in danger. The only way to stay safe is to stay secret. Trust me. It can be tough. My daughter wants to go public all the time. She’s convinced that she could do a lot of good and help a lot of people.”
“Your daughter?”
“Ruth. I know you met her. She came here the other night cut up pretty badly. Heidi patched her up and took on the worst of the cuts. I tried to convince her to stay put but she insisted on rescuing Thomas. I feared that he was taken by Algitsh’s men.”
“It wasn’t Algitsh,” Murray said. “It was someone calling himself the General. Short guy. About five three with a face that looks like it was stitched together by someone who doesn’t know how to sew. Oh yeah, and he can shoot leeches from his hands that take over your brain.”
“Great. After Algitsh, our second biggest fear was some powered person going rogue. Most people are decent and only wanted to help others or to live their lives in peace. We taught them to control their powers and they went on their way. There are always bad apples, though. We knew it was only a matter of time before one went all super-villain on us.”
“I think it’s safe to say he’s gone super-villain,” Murray said. “He’s captured and brainwashed a lot of people, including Sean and Ruth.”
“What?” William asked, suddenly alarmed.
“I was trying to escape the General when Ruth burst into Sean’s junkyard. She blasted someone I had saved from the General and captured both him and Sean. Sean’s fighting the control, but I don’t know how much time he has. And the General is going to kill Thomas today unless I can figure out a way to stop him.”
William slammed his fist down on the table and stood up.
“I told her not to go,” he said. “She’s too much like I was when I was younger. Always trying to right the wrongs in the world.”
“Can you help me?”
“Help you?”
“I need to free them. All of them. And somehow stop the General from doing whatever it is he’s planning on doing. I can’t do it alone, though. I tried going up against him by myself and barely got out without turning into one of his minions.”
“I’m… I’m sorry,” William sighed as he slumped back into his seat. “I can’t get involved.”
“Can’t get involved? Your daughter is in danger. Your friend is in danger. We need to help.”
“I wish I could. Trust me, I do. Did Sean or Ruth tell you about my abilities?”
“Yes. Kind of. You can control plasma?”
“It’s more than that. It’s like I’m a miniature sun. I generate the stuff. Massive quantities of it. I can’t control it. I can’t direct it. If my powers weren’t under control right now, I’d melt this entire building. Worse, Sean and I theorized that if my powers got out of control enough, I’d explode with the fo
rce of a hydrogen bomb.”
“So I’m on my own.”
“Like I said. I’m sorry. I want to help, but I can’t risk using my powers.”
Murray ran his fingers through his hair and tried to think.
“Maybe I’m aiming too high here.”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“I’m trying to figure out how to free everybody and stop the General, but maybe I don’t need to stop him. When I spoke with Sean last night, he said that the General’s condition is deteriorating. When I first got my powers, Sean told me that they could take over. For Sean, this means his robotic parts take up more of his body. For you, this means that your plasma powers get more out of control. What would happen to Sean or you if you didn’t keep your powers in check?”
“If I didn’t keep my powers in check, I’d probably die. I’m not willing to test this theory, though.”
“Maybe this is what would happen to the General. Whatever is going to happen is definitely bad for him or he wouldn’t be trying to fix it. I might not need to stop the General entirely and free everyone. If I just free Thomas, the General’s powers might deteriorate enough that everyone else is freed as well.”
“That seems like a pretty thin hope to hang on.”
“Maybe, but it’s a start. Worst case scenario, we save Thomas and then come up with another plan to get the others out.”
“And how do you plan on getting Thomas out of there? You said he’s got a lot of people working for him. He’s sure to have Thomas locked down under the tightest of security.”
Murray smiled, a twinkle in his eyes. “This sounds like a job for a thief.”
Chapter Twenty Two: A Plan Forms
Murray examined his work suit. It wasn’t perfect, but William had managed to patch the rips that the General’s leech had inflicted on his sleeve. There was just one small tear left which William was working to close up.
“This is pretty good work.”
“Thank you,” William replied. “When you’re stuck at home most days, you pick up a few hobbies like sewing or cooking.”
“Why are you stuck at home?”
William lifted one of his arms. “These help keep my powers in check. Unfortunately. they also lead to uncomfortable questions if I go out in public. I guess I should consider myself lucky that I don’t need to wear the neck collar.”
Murray remembered how that collar felt. He looked down at his watch, faintly glowing blue with the current time. He certainly preferred the watch to the full collar experience.
“So now that your outfit is fixed,” William said. “what’s your plan?”
“Well. first I need to get back to Sean’s junkyard. My only problem is riding the subway like this. I’m bound to attract unwanted attention.”
“I could call you a taxi,” William suggested.
“Still a little too public for my taste,” Murray replied.
“You could always drive him,” came a reply from the other side of the room.
Murray looked over. Heidi was standing at the edge of the kitchen, leaning against the wall. William quickly stood up and walked over to her.
“Why are you out of bed? You should be resting!”
“I’m fine,” Heidi replied.
Her grip on the wall slipped and she barely caught herself before she fell. William grabbed hold of her arms to steady her.
“You’re not fine. You need to rest.”
“And you need to get out of this house and help Murray.”
“You know why I can’t get involved.”
Heidi placed one hand on William’s cheek.
“I know why you can’t fight. I understand that. But you can still help in other ways. Drive him to get his gear. Help him get ready. You may not be able to be there alongside him, but you can can certainly give him a fighting chance.”
“But you…”
“Will be fine. You’ve made enough food for me for a few of my recovery meals and I promise to rest as much as possible so I’ll heal quicker.”
“I shouldn’t. The danger…”
“You can stay out of immediate danger. You have experience with this sort of thing. Now stop arguing and just go.”
William sighed and let go of Heidi’s arms. She propped herself against the wall and gave him a stern look. Had Murray not known what her abilities were, he would not have been surprised to have seen those eyes glow like Ruth’s fists did before a blast. He made a mental note always to do what Heidi said.
“Fine, but you’d better rest up. Now.”
“I will, dear,” Heidi said, smiling at William. She slowly turned around and walked out of the room. William waited until he heard the bedroom door close before he turned back to the suit.
Murray sat down on the couch with a laptop that William had loaned him.
“What are you up to?” William asked.
“Well, when I go out for… ‘nightly activities’...”
“You mean when you go to steal something,” William interrupted. “It’s fine. I’m not going to judge you based on how you make your living.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just that your daughter didn’t take that news too well.”
“She’s a bit of a black-and-white sort of person. Good versus bad. Right versus wrong. Those who uphold the law and those who break it. I was like that when I was younger. She hasn’t learned yet that life is often a series of gray areas.”
“Okay. So when I usually go to steal something, I get as much information as I can. Blueprints, security system vulnerabilities, guard rotations. That sort of thing.”
“Makes sense. You don’t want to go in blind.”
“Right. But that’s exactly what I’m going to be doing here. Everyone who is in the base is under the General’s mental voodoo. I can’t exactly ply them for any information. Not without either getting myself captured or alerting the General to what I’m doing. I was getting some old satellite photos of the base off the Internet. It’s better than nothing and it might help me figure out where they’re keeping Thomas.”
“You know. Not everyone on that base is completely under the General’s control.”
“You mean Sean?” Murray took Sean’s card out of his pocket. “I thought of him, but wasn’t sure how good of an idea that was. What if he’s mind controlled?”
“If you ask him for information but don’t give him any in return, you limit your liability.”
“He could still lead me into a trap.”
“True, but he already knows you’re likely to try to save them. If Sean is really under the General’s control already, then he’s already warned him. You really have nothing to lose.”
Murray picked up the phone and dialed the number on the card. As usual, no ring came from the other end. Instead, Sean’s voice immediately answered.
“H--- Hello?” Sean’s voice was different. He seemed as though he was putting effort into his words.
“Sean. Are you okay? Are you still you?”
“If you’re asking if I’m still… out of the General’s control… the answer is yes. But not for long. I’ve been able to hold it off, but it is relentless. I would have contacted you sooner but I’ve lost the ability to initiate outgoing communications. Did you go to where I told you to go?”
“Under the circumstances, I think it’s best if I don’t tell you.”
“Understood. If this keeps up, the General will soon know everything I know. How can I help you?”
“Give me some information. First of all, where did you hide my gear?”
“It’s in the junkyard. In one of the piles near the shed. I had a robot hide it and then hide itself with strict orders to only reveal itself to you.”
“Thank you. Now, about that military base that the General has taken over. Where on the base is Thomas?”
“There are a series of five buildings in a row. The fourth building from the left has guards stationed by it all the time. I believe he’s being held there.”
Murray ex
amined a satellite photo of the military base that he had printed out. He found the series of buildings and circled the fourth one. Near the circle he wrote “Thomas?”.
“Where are Ruth and Eddie?”
“Ruth recently returned to the base from some mission. I think she was hunting you. Unsuccessfully, I surmise.”
“No surmising. Just stick to the facts for now.”
“Facts. Yes. I spotted Eddie in a stretcher being taken to the first of those five buildings an hour ago. After he was put in, guards were stationed at the entrance. That’s why I figured Thomas was in the fourth building.”
Murray circled the first building in the series on his printout and wrote “Eddie”.
“Now tell me everything you know about what the General is planning to do with Thomas and when.”
“It’s going to be at sundown tonight. He’s had men building a stage and we’re all to congregate by it. Everyone. He’s had men coming in from the field all day. He’s calling it his rebirth.”
“Where is this stage?”
“Right in the main courtyard.”
Murray looked at the map. Sure enough, there was a large area between all of the buildings. There would be room for plenty of people there. He circled that area and wrote “Plan B.”
“How many men does the General have there?”
“I don’t… I… Sorry, Murray. Having trouble thinking. I’ve tried holding off as long as I can. I can feel it taking control. Must go. No telling what he’ll make me do…”
Murray heard a clicking sound and then silence.
“Well?” William asked.
“He gave me some good information,” Murray said, “but he hung up when he felt the General’s control getting stronger. I think we can trust what he said up to now, but I don’t think I can trust him from here on out. Until he’s freed, that is.”
“Are we safe here? Will he come after us?”
“I think we’re safe for the moment. It sounds like he’s gathering all of his men for some ‘rebirth’ ceremony. After tonight, though, all bets are off.”