The City That Heroes Built

by Daniel Pierce

  There wasn't any evidence of murder, and there wasn't any reason for suicide. What if there was a reason to murder him? At four in the morning, I thought I found something. A single flight to Kansas City. A hotel. A ticket to the baseball game. A couple of meals. A flight home. Who goes to a baseball game by themselves?

  I checked Kansas City, then Kansas in my database and got a single hit. Cronos, legally known as David Arthur, was one of the Titans, henchman of Midas. The Titans had no powers of their own. Cronos' family petitioned to get him moved from the Citadel. He was released in 2016, after only a year in the Citadel. He successfully showed that he was under duress during the Titan's crime spree, and the good people of Kansas freed him.

  There was a connection: The supra-villain Midas and his team the Titans, made their debut in 2015, robbing the California Museum of the Ancient World. The teen supra-hero team New Powers contested their next job. Late in the year the New Powers and The Guard, who had set a trap for the villain knowing his penchant for Greek artifacts, would ambush the Titans. Midas escaped but his Titans, Rhea, Cronos, Crius, Hyperion, and Themis were captured. When taken into custody it was discovered that none of the Titans actually had powers of their own. Midas would later reform his Titans numerous times with almost completely new lineups each time.

  Glory Knight joined the Guard in 2014. Fiver, as Rebel, was of course a founding member of the New Powers. I didn't think that Cronos could be a connection. He was a nobody.

  But there were other trips. Weekenders, one and two day trips, and his credit cards were used quite often for gas. I could track the addresses on credit card statements to see when he left town. He had used his card for gas in Vegas, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and coffee in LA. There were two years worth of statements. The travel had started in the last ten weeks.

  I started checking the database, but I didn't have much on any of those places. I went to the web to cross-reference Santa Maria and the places he spent money. I didn't even get a hit on Cronos that way. I went back to his expenditures and mapped the locations where he spent money around Santa Maria. I actually wanted a big corkboard with pins in it for tracking the Sunshine Bunch, but I'm a computer guy. I simply entered addresses into a map and pins started dropping. As you'd expect, most were near his house, and between the house and the golf course. Then I typed in the address to my building.

  I hit the enter button very dramatically and sat back on the couch. Two months ago, at the start of his travels, Glory Knight had coffee downstairs, just after Calliope opened her office here. Calliope is pretty easy to find. She has a public persona. Did Glory Knight need a bodyguard? Also, I told Fiver we should bring it up to Calliope, and I do enjoy being right, even by accident. At five in the morning, I refrained from texting him. Isabelle would be opening the coffee shop in an hour. I went through some more of the paperwork, but I was distracted because I was sure that Calliope was the key, and why waste time looking for clues when I could get the answer in a couple of hours.

  July 26, 2021

  I played video games until 6am, went down and saw Isabelle, and hung out until the flow of customers surged with the morning rush. Then I went to Ocean Drive to meet up with the team for breakfast. Cal laid out the new assignments. Simon and Catchpenny in the middle. Fiver and Slowburn to the south. Skyborne and Cal to the north. The idea was to use the flyers to drive the Sunshine Bunch into the middle. A flashy display of power would be the catalyst to get the Sunshine Bunch to turn the other way, into an ambush and the entirety of the team. I went with Fiver and Slowburn to pass on what I had learned about Glory Knight's final days. We sat on the patio of a coffee shop, out of the way.

  “Glory Knight had coffee downstairs just after Calliope opened her office here,” I said. “He made a handful of out of area coffee purchases, I think because he was meeting people. He went to Vegas and San Francisco. He had coffee in LA, so the Santa Barbara gas looks like it was the return trip. He also had a weekend in Kansas City of all places to catch a baseball game. All of this started after he met Marissa Courtney.”

  I showed Fiver the map I made and the credit card statements. Slowburn peaked in.

  “Also, the only connection I found with Kansas City was that Cronos was transferred there from the Citadel. I'm sure it's purely coincidental, but I mention this because you and Glory Knight both had a hand in his capture, and maybe that means something.”

  “I didn't realize he'd gotten out,” Fiver said.

  “The groups that Marissa is paying to work on her brother's case, Innocence Project and Supra Rights Watch, maintain a list of supras in prison. Special emphasis on the Citadel.” I pulled up the list for him. Slowburn looked over his shoulder.

  “We've got some guys on the list,” Slowburn said.

  “Do they have a list of released prisoners?” Fiver asked

  “The Supra Rights Watch has a list of supras they've helped,” I said. I brought up that page. “They have the list of those on Death Row, in Sleep Farms, and unPersons.”

  “I don't know what that is.”

  “UnPersons are supras they can't identify, maybe because they don't have human forms anymore, maybe because they are foreign nationals who aren't claimed by their government.”

  Fiver took a minute to read.

  “This says they got an unPerson released. Bunch of whackos,” Fiver said. “Black Feather in 2014. Babble in 2016. Scissor Sister and Pilfer in 2019, but they went back to a life of crime and died in a gang war with the Stone City. Binary last year. Salute was just released.”

  “None of the likely poisoners.”

  “The Guard did capture Salute. Glory Knight beat him in single combat,” Fiver said. “Also, the Supra Rights Watch got Bride of Scorpions' sentence commuted to life in 2015. She went from Death Row to the Sleep Farm.”

  “I think we can rule her out,” I said.

  “You think there's a way to get her poison from her to be used as a weapon?” Fiver asked. “I mean, let's go with the theory that Glory Knight was investigating Bio-Citadel. If he found this out, maybe that they were weaponizing sleeping supras, that would be a pretty big thing.”

  “But wouldn't Supra Rights Watch be against that? I don't see them teaming up with Marissa if that was the case.”

  “That's why she killed him. To cover up something that would hinder her ability to free her brother.”

  “That's great detective work, except for the part where you invented a motive based on events that you made up,” I said.

  “Okay, leave that on the back burner,” Fiver said. “What's our other theory?”

  “The other theory is that he was planning to break out Leonidas.”

  “Doesn't make sense to break out a guy who will likely be freed in a year anyway. I mean, these Innocence Project guys raise a lot of money to hire good lawyers. Leonidas hasn't been charged with anything besides felony level mischief making and destruction of property. He can buy his way out of that.”

  “It's way more than that,” I said. “The DA is going after him with state anti-terror laws and a lot of attempted murder charges.” I pulled up the details and sent the link to Fiver's phone so we could both read at the same time.

  I forwarded another article with analysis that suggested the DA was coming down hard in order to outlaw supras, and at the same time create a supra team that would operate solely under the supervision of the city government. There was a compelling argument that governments should be the sole actors in law enforcement, and the only reason why supras were expected to exist outside of the law was because people grew up reading comic books and watching superhero TV shows.

  “David Courtney's arraignment is August 11,” Fiver said. “If they hit him with all of these charges, he'll be in jail for a long time just going through the trial. Any of them stick and he could be looking at a decent stint. I can't think of any time that has happened.”

  “Victory is an “Honor Guest” there.”

  “Isn't she just a really old
lady?”

  “Yeah, Alzheimer's. They didn't want to charge her since she was a supra-hero, so they coaxed her in. It's like a retirement home for her and she can't accidentally turn anyone's brain into mush.”

  “Any association with Glory Knight?”

  “Nah, she's old enough to be his mom.”

  “What else do we have?”

  “I need to talk to Calliope,” I said. “Find out what Glory Knight was up to.”

  “Cal told me you saved her life. Nice work by you.”

  “I just called Cal.”

  “She owes you one,” Fiver said. “That should be worth some honest answers.”

  I sent a text. Calliope didn't respond.

  “Did Glory Knight leave California for any other reason?” Slowburn asked.

  “Just Vegas.”

  “He stayed in Vegas? Or just dropped by?”

  “One night in a hotel off the strip.”

  “I wonder if he was out there looking for Babble.”

  “What do you mean?” Fiver asked.

  “You know the old training ground we used in the desert? Babble went out to a ghost town out in that direction. She's crazy, so an abandoned town was a good fit for her. It's also as far out of civilization as you can get and still be in California.”

  “Why would she want to stay in California?”

  “Parole. Any one released from prison is going to have to have an address on file and be reachable by parole officers. Anyway, if you're out in the desert looking for someone and you don't find them day one, Vegas is close enough to get a cheap hotel room, a little entertainment, and it's not as miserable as Primm.”

  “Don't look at me,” Fiver said. “I don't go to Primm.”

  “Why would Glory Knight look for Babble?” I asked.

  “Why would he go to Kansas City?” Slowburn said.

  “Maybe he's a big baseball fan and he was touring the different stadiums,” I said. “Maybe the Yankees were in town and it was cheaper to see them in Kansas City than in New York or LA.”

  “He only went to one game,” Fiver said. “Did he go anywhere else? He was retired, no job. Why not road trip to Houston, Arlington, KC, and St. Louis? Why not hit the west coast?”

  “Yeah, these are cover moves,” Slowburn said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “When someone asks why you left town, you need an answer. If the cops come by right now and ask why we're sitting in a coffee shop for hours at a time, what do you tell them?”

  “I'm just hanging out and writing a novel.”

  “With two guys talking to you the whole time? Is this a group writing project?” Slowburn asked.

  “What's your answer?” I asked.

  “I'm waiting to hear from a friend who is recovering from an auto accident at the West Santa Maria Hospital. You guys came by to wait with me, since I'm from out of town and we only get together every now and then.”

  “Cool,” I said. “Can I see your out-of-town driver's license?”

  Slowburn pulled an id out of his pocket and threw it to me. “Wait, there's more. Mrs. Mary Jensen, who I call Aunt Mary, lives at 38 Juniper Lane, my grandma used to live across the street, but my parents sold the house in 2013, and put her in a retirement home. I still come back to visit Aunt Mary because she lives alone and after my grandma passed I don't have too many connections to the area. It's really just a chance to meet up with these guys who I know from the Internet.”

  “That's a good story.”

  “If I'm held the cops will find Mary Jensen in West Santa Maria Hospital, room 427. A deeper search will get me, but it'll get me through the first bit of questioning,” Slowburn said. “Cops don't have time most of the time to care what your story is, as long as you've got one.”

  “How'd you get the details on Aunt Mary?”

  “Internet search and a call to the hospital to get her room number. I dropped by out of visiting hours so the nurses would remember me. It'll get me through the week, and I'll have another answer on Sunday.”

  “Always have a back up plan,” Fiver said.

  “Can't you just fly away, though?” I asked.

  “Sure, if I want my picture captured on a cop's body camera, and my voice recorded.”

  “So, back on the subject, you think that Glory Knight went to Kansas City to meet Cronos, and Vegas to find Babble,” I said.

  “I'm saying he started traveling a lot, all over California, with two exceptions,” Fiver said. “Vegas, hey, it could be Vegas, I've been known to go there. But Kansas City? He stayed at a hotel, bought a single ticket to a ball game, hit a bar? I might chalk that up to an Internet affair, could be unrelated to the rest of the travel, but we looked at his email, and the cops looked at his phone records, which we now have. No indication of a dangerous liaison, or any Internet dating.”

  He paused when one of the coffee shop employees came by to clean. Once he left, Fiver continued. “Cronos isn't the only guy in Kansas City, but he's the only guy there who has been inside the Citadel. He's also more approachable than a lot of the others who have been released, because he doesn't have powers. If Glory Knight wanted to break out Leonidas, Cronos could have the information he was after.”

  “Glory Knight could even have a copy of the plans,” Slowburn said. “Remember Thirteen had them when she was with the Guard.”

  “I told him about that,” Fiver said.

  “I miss the Club House,” Slowburn said. “Except that time when Thirteen caught me jerking off.”

  “Seriously, man?”

  “Yeah, it was late, I was alone, I was like 15 watching Skinemax. She walked in and it did not end the way such things did in the movies,” he said. “She told me she was going to tell everyone unless I changed my name to Sloppy Toaster.”

  “Really? That was my favorite of all your names.”

  “It was my least favorite, but it was the one that everyone remembered, and I got the most press for.”

  “At least you got press.”

  “It was nice when you were a teenager with a secret identity. In all fairness, you didn't really do anything in our fights. I'm really not clear why you're even here today,” Slowburn smirked.

  “I didn't know martial arts then, and I was skinny as hell,” Fiver said. “All I had was speed. Now I'm significantly more capable.”

  “Yeah, me, too,” Slowburn said. “I fly way faster, burn hotter, and I can shape my fire projections into a huge area. Not useful on a day like today, but if I fight a fast moving flyer, I can light up a big area instead of tossing fireballs that will never hit.”

  “Nice,” Fiver said.

  “Hey, do you eat more? Skyborne and I have to eat like 10,000 calories a day, and that's with a low activity level.”

  “Yeah,” Fiver said. “I'm on protein powder, all the beers, everything. I just get leaner. But my power is always on.”

  “Is that like a universal thing? I don't remember anyone talking about it in the New Powers.” Slowburn said.

  “We were all young and eating all the time anyway. You don't remember going through a dozen pizzas after we caught Midas?”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  I never noticed the supras eating more than I did. Fiver drank a lot more, but that was it. It absolutely thrilled me that I was a part of a conversation like this, sitting around and talking with real supras. Being a part of their group was beyond my wildest dreams.

  “Man, I just got hungry,” I said.

  “Let's go get burritos,” Fiver said.

  We went to a Taco Shop half a block away. I didn't think either of the supras ate any more than I did, but then, I'm chubby.

  “Man, this would go great with a beer,” Fiver said. “Carne asada, sunshine, we're a cold beer and a foiled bank robbery away from the greatest day ever.”

  “Didn't you win a million dollars playing poker a couple years ago?” Slowburn asked.

  “Yeah, but that took a couple of days and there was no Mexican food.”
/>
  “Weren't you banging your superhot, super famous, supra bodyguard?”

  “Yeah, and that was a great day, but I didn't foil a bank robbery.”

  “You're a very simple man, Reb.”

  “I am,” Fiver said. “I'm okay with that.” He paused, held his hand to the ear that had the earpiece for his radio.

  “Alarm at Bank of America, Washington Street,” he said, he pulled a mask from his bag and ran.

  Slowburn calmly looked at a map. “Guess this is it,” he sighed. “Think I gave him enough of a head start?” He winked, reached for the mask in his pocket, and launched into the sky, streaking up, over, and down.

  I grabbed the bag Fiver had left and headed in the direction he had gone. I don't know why I do these things. It's possibly because I don't think things through. Maybe I want to be in the middle of things on a subconscious level. Whatever the reason, I charged into danger.

  Jen got the alarm by tapping into the alert system the police use. Monitoring it was easy. To make things simple for police, the alarm put up a position on their navigation system. Jen got that information as well. She sent out the alert to all of us and jumped into the back of the truck to get into the Catchpenny Armor. Suited up, she jumped out and the powered hydraulic legs let her jump up to the top of the nearest building. Simon was already climbing the fire escape.

  To the north, Skyborne floated up into the sky and drifted south. Cal popped from rooftop to rooftop, but slowly so he could be seen. Thirty seconds after the alarm went off, the Sunshine Bunch ran out of the bank and into the street each carrying a massive duffle bag of cash. Skyborne was spotted immediately. Cal appeared nearby. As anticipated, the Bunch looked south. Slowburn had already arrived. Seeing him pass, Catchpenny leapt forward, onto the street and charged. Fiver lagged behind, out of sight. Skyborne closed as the Sunshine Bunch hesitated. Cal appeared on a nearby car, looking operator-as-fuck, and ready to shoot.

  Smokey Pete gave an order. Rush Hour and Speedy McCready went east into the residential area. Smokey Pete and Radiation Jane headed west to the beach. Slowburn and Skyborne went after the fast movers. Catchpenny chased Radiation Jane and Smokey Pete. The crowd parted as they went. Catchpenny had a shot and launched a net at Smokey Pete. He turned himself into smoke and pulled the money through the net. He kept running. A second net hit Radiation Jane, tangling her up and bringing her down. She melted it and stood up, running to catch up with Smokey Pete. At the boardwalk, Smokey Pete turned into smoke again, pouring himself into a building's ventilation duct, still managing to hold on to the money. Radiation Jane headed into an underground parking lot. Catchpenny followed, shouting her location into the radio.