With a sly grin, Lindsey cracked open a fortune cookie and read from the slip of paper.
“Keep up with your friends.”
“Here’s to that,” Cal said, clinking his overly sugared iced tea against her lemonade. The fortune had struck a cord with him.
He needed to catch up with the super-fast Whorl (literally). Despite the two of them possessing hyper-speed, their lives often kept them too busy even for a little chat. He hadn’t talked with Nightshadow in a while either. That whole Death Reaper fiasco had shaken Night up badly, and true to form, he hadn’t wanted to open up about it. Instead, as always, he buried himself in his work.
Even now, using his hyper-vision, Hyperman saw Nightshadow moping around in one of his sewer lairs, studying a murder case’s details on his supercomputer. Mystery solving always seemed to make him feel better, and Hyperman knew Night liked working alone best, so he left him to it. Whenever Night wanted to talk, he’d be there. If he needed help, then Hyperman would zip by, even if it hurt Night’s pride to not be able to do everything himself.
Still, the Death Reaper thing gnawed at Hyperman too. Even with his hyper-powers, he hadn’t been able to find the Death Reaper and those children. He’d have given anything to help them. He couldn’t even find any of these other supposed reaper children Night mentioned. Of course, he’d never stop looking for them, even if he didn’t even know where to start. He could see everything in the world, but that maniac had still hidden those children from him. The Death Reaper was probably laughing his ass off about it as he burned in hell.
Hyperman knew he shouldn’t get down on himself. Horrible things happened and, sometimes, not even hyper-powers helped, but he’d never give up trying to do something about them.
A napkin smacked against his cheek. He glanced up.
“You went off into your quiet little place,” Lindsey teasingly said.
“Sorry. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”
“It’s okay. You actually look sort of cute like that with the weight of the world on your shoulders.”
He chuckled. “I’ll try to look thoughtful and broody then.”
“We’ll have you model for it and take pictures,” she said. “I’ll write an article and proclaim you the moody boy of the new century.”
They both laughed.
Suddenly, soul-shockingly loud rocket blasts roared from above.
***
Everyone in the diner jumped. Waitresses dropped trays of food. People fell out of their seats and knocked over tables. Drinks spilled. Outside, cars stopped and thumped into each other. Sirens and horns shrieked. Bikers rode into trees. Everywhere, everybody looked to the sky.
Hyperman jolted up in his seat, pretending to be as startled as anyone. He had sensed this coming from far off and would only interfere in the situation if he must. He wasn’t about to ditch Lindsey without a very good reason.
Far above, Dynamo-Man in his sleek, gleaming, high-tech armor battered through the clouds after a pair of black, spiked death-droids. Small missiles and hot laser beams filled the sky between them. Explosions boomed and flames flashed, but Dynamo-Man incinerated any falling debris and chased the death-droids away over the horizon. The people all around Hyperman breathed a sigh of relief. Several nervously laughed.
While tempted to suit up and help, Hyperman determined that Dynamo-Man had the situation well in hand. He’d likely blast those death-droids to pieces out over the ocean without needing any help at all. He was a well-experienced hand at that sort of thing. Therefore, Hyperman could sit down, relax, and enjoy his date.
Lindsey gulped down her lemonade and set the glass shakily back onto the table. She ran her hands through her hair and massaged her temples.
“You okay?” Hyperman asked, taking her hand.
“Seeing something like that’s a lot to take,” she said. “It’s just not…not right. People shouldn’t be able to do things like that. Things like that shouldn’t exist!”
Hyperman stiffened up in his seat. He and Lindsey had never discussed her views on superheroes before. He’d never thought she would be anything but awed and grateful. Most people were whenever he’d had a chance, as Cal, to chat them up about it.
“Well,” he said, “if certain people couldn’t, who’d save the world?”
“Why do we need to have the world saved?” she asked.
“What? Are you kidding? Look at how many idiots get powers and try to hurt someone with them.”
“Are you talking about the so-called heroes or the villains? Because I have trouble telling them apart sometimes.”
“It’s not hard. One side’s trying to protect you and the other’s try to do whatever the hell they want.”
“They all seem to do whatever they want, Cal, and the rest of us can’t do anything about it.”
His mouth opened in the shape of a small oval, and his hand slipped away from hers.
“You really feel this way?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Look, I’m grateful whenever Hyperman saves the universe. Really, I am. But I figure it’d be safer without him and the other big hero guys around with their super-fights causing so much collateral damage.”
“They help clean that up.”
“Not all of it. Not even they can fix all the cities that get thrashed and save the people that die.”
“They do their best! It’s the same with the police and military! It’s a dangerous line of work, and unfortunately, there’s a lot of crossfire. Still, we’re all better off with superheroes looking after us.”
“I bet they do a lot for charities too, don’t they?” Lindsey shook her head. “I just wonder if they cause a lot of the problems they help solve. How many super-villain ass-hats cause trouble just because they want to harass Hyperman or Nightshadow or whoever? With all the power these guys have, is just getting into fistfights and wearing dorky little outfits really the best they can do?”
“They keep the world safe and contribute to society in so many ways!” Hyperman said. “A lot of them are teachers and scientists too! Some of them are even doctors and artists!”
“That’s great, Cal, but look around you. There are still super-villains, regular criminals, war, diseases, hunger, and everything else everywhere. How have any of those powers ever really made a difference?”
Hyperman jabbed a fork into a piece of chicken and swirled it around in the sauce and rice. “The difference is we’re all still alive and breathing, and the city isn’t a pile of rubble, but you’re entitled to your opinion,” he said.
“I didn’t know you were such a big powers supporter, Cal,” Lindsey replied, drenching her last egg roll in soy sauce.
“You might say I’m grateful. Hyperman has saved me more than a few times.”
“He has? When?”
“He does it all the time. Every single day, he saves everyone.”
***
As they finished dinner, they made uncomfortable small talk about the New Daedalus Sky Kings hockey team and their favorite punk rock bands. They exchanged a few strained smiles, but honestly, Hyperman didn’t know what to say. How could she not appreciate everything he did for her and everyone else? She wouldn’t be sitting here, enjoying her egg rolls, if not for him! Nobody would be doing anything anywhere!
Sure, his adventures and world-saving often resulted in at least a little damage, but that happened during super-powered battles. The world had grown used to it long ago, and many companies offered insurance and reconstruction services to help superheroes fix whatever they could. Still, Hyperman tried to mitigate the damage whenever possible, even if a little bit of chaos and destruction was often inevitable. However, without Hyperman around to keep everything in check, everybody would be far, far worse off.
Why couldn’t Lindsey see that?
Despite their newfound awkwardness, they nonetheless ended up at the ice rink after finishing their meal, and she rented him a pair of skates. After pulling him onto the ice, they circled around and around toge
ther, holding hands as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Whatever tension they’d had between them vanished, and they both seemed to forget what they had been arguing about earlier as they laughed and raced each other. Now and then, one pushed the other off, and they went flying into the barrier. Once they stopped themselves, they’d chase after the other to do the same.
When they were done, they linked their arms around each other and sipped hot chocolate in the rink’s cafe, standing by the glass barrier and watching other skaters glide past. Standing up on her tiptoes, Lindsey whispered into Hyperman’s ear, “I really do like you, Cal.”
Her mouth inched tentatively toward his, and he craned his head down toward her face. Their lips met, but he abruptly pulled back. Amongst all the sirens, signals, songs, and chatter constantly churning together across the world, his hyper-hearing had picked out a scratchy-sounding female voice.
“HELP! HYPERMAN! SOMEONE! ANYONE! SAVE ME!”
The hooks of responsibility tugged at him. He couldn’t say no to someone who really needed his help, not even now. Putting on an awkward smile, he patted Lindsey on the arm and set his hot chocolate down onto a nearby table where her gym bag hung from the back of a chair.
“Sorry,” he said, “but my phone’s vibrating and I have to take this call. It’s important.”
“What?” she asked, looking confused.
“I just need a minute,” he said, dashing off and hoping he hadn’t ruined his shot with her.
He shouldered in through the bathroom door and made sure he was alone. Once he had, he whirled about at hyper-speeds to change into his Hyperman outfit before blasting out through the small window and taking flight.
Lindsey wouldn’t have recognized him now.
His fiery-blonde hair shot up in short spikes. Perfect steel blue flashed across his eyes and highlighted his handsome, high-cheeked face. A stark, silvery-blue, mandarin-collared jacket zipped up and formed a three-dimensional infinity symbol across his chest that glowed blue, silver, and white. A belt with an H-shaped buckle closed around his waist. He also wore rugged white slacks, fingerless gloves, and dark blue boots. Cut, trim, otherworldly muscles bulged out of his clothes, which he’d fashioned from extra-dimensional materials so they’d be as durable as he was. He looked every bit a noble, awe-inspiring cosmic force. It was what he’d designed his outfit to do.
He knifed across the city skyline, following the voice he’d heard, and halted, floating in mid-air above the World Building. A giant glass globe sat perched upon its rooftop and glistened in the hazy early evening light. Two figures in shiny silver hoods clutched precariously to the globe’s support structure, each wielding a dull-colored but sharp-tipped crystal dagger. A young woman dangled from the globe with her arms and legs tied to support beams. Her thorny-black hair spilled over her strikingly gorgeous face. The wind whipped through her lacy undergarments, revealing supple, tight curves that Hyperman actually found striking.
“HYPERMAN!” she gasped in feigned disbelief.
“Her soul for the one true Lord of the Sky and Universe!” the hoods chanted in practiced unison. One leaped off the globe at Hyperman while the other climbed down to jab his blade into the woman’s heart.
Hyperman sighed. Did these kids take him for a fool? What were they? Twenty years old? He saw and measured their jumping heart rates and their racing pulses. His ears picked out the slightly stilted, rehearsed tones of their voices. His nostrils smelled nervousness and fear. Had they staged this little stunt just to get his attention? Well, they had it now.
He easily caught the hood pouncing at him with his knife and held him single-handedly by the throat in the air. The kid’s robe sparkled and fluttered in the high winds. Hyperman slightly tightened his grip and caused the hood to gag and drop the dagger, which Hyperman snagged and crushed between his fingers.
The other hood hung perched over the girl with his dagger up and about to jam down into the girl’s chest. His arm wavered, but held still. He was trying to stall. Hyperman rolled his eyes, and they glowed an eerie blue. Two beams shot out to hit and heat up the dagger. It burned too hot for the hood to hold.
“Shit!” he yelped, throwing the blade down to the rooftop, then holding and shaking his hand. Twisting into a whirlwind, Hyperman swept him and the girl up before setting them down on the rooftop along with their other companion.
Stunned and dizzy, they stumbled about. The one hood had a handprint on his throat and he vomited. Pale and sick looking, the girl fumbled down into a sitting position. The other hood tripped over her and crashed down close to where his dagger lay. Scrambling toward it, he tried grabbing the blade, but its handle was still too hot. He yelped and snatched his hand away. Hovering above, Hyperman crossed his arms on his chest and gazed balefully down upon them, his eyes still flaring cosmic, fiery blue.
“What was all this about?” he demanded.
To his horror, all three got down on their knees before him and bowed their heads.
“Forgive us, oh Sky!” the hood with the handprint on his throat said.
“We…we thought this was the only way we’d ever get to meet you!” the girl added.
Hyperman’s jaw dropped. “You did this stupid, STUPID thing just to meet me? What if I hadn’t shown up? You’ve been up here playing with knives! The wind could have knocked you off! You could have been killed!”
“We were only risking our own worthless lives!” the other hood said, averting his eyes, but still holding his burnt hand.
“Praise be the sky and universe!” the girl shouted. “He who walks above us!”
“He who walks above us!” the hoods repeated.
“Who…who are you?” Hyperman asked.
“Your faithful!” the girl answered.
The three of them simultaneously pressed buttons on the insides of their robes. Infinity symbols lit all across their robes’ fabric, each flashing blue, silver, and white.
Hyperman stared. He had no idea how to respond to something like this.
“I-I…don’t deserve this!” he finally managed to say.
“But the miraculous things you do!” the hood rubbing his reddened throat said.
“All the lives and worlds you’ve saved!” the other hood added.
“You shine greater than the lesser gods and devils that walk among us!” the girl cried out.
Hyperman shook his head. “No, you…you don’t understand. I just do what I can like anyone else would. Some people are smarter…or…or…faster or they’re a great artist or writer! Everyone has their own talents and uses them to contribute however they can to the world!”
“You are the world, the sky, and the universe!” the three chanted.
“No! I’m only a person! A person with gifts, nothing more! I swear!”
“You are our Heaven-In-One! You save us, and we live on through you! You carry all the lives, worlds, and hearts you touch with you through eternity!”
Hyperman sighed and put his face in his hands.
“I’m getting the police,” he said. “They’ll call your parents.”
“We were apprehended by Hyperman!” the girl said with a monstrously ecstatic smile.
“I was marked!” the first hood said, caressing his own throat.
“As was I!” the other added, holding up his hand.
The three of them practically squealed with glee.
Hyperman wished he possessed the ability to throw up.
***
Vibrating his appearance back into Cal, Hyperman squished back through the bathroom window and landed perfectly into a steady step toward the door. The man sitting on the toilet in the stall with his pants hiked down went about his business, not even noticing him treading by.
Running a hand through his dry, flaky hair, Cal nervously ambled up to Lindsey. Between abandoning her earlier and those kids, he felt out of sorts and hoped it didn’t show. She sat at a cafe table, one leg crossed over the other with her arms folded in her lap. Her eyebrows fur
rowed together, and she pursed her lips when she saw him.
“Took your time, didn’t you?” she asked. “What? Was it business? Couldn’t your clients have called back later? Couldn’t you have told them it was your day off?”
“No, I’m…I’m sorry,” he stammered. “It was…was bad news.”
She noticed his disheveled state.
“Oh, Cal, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to be such a bitch!”
Immediately, she shot up to hug him. His arms dangled limply around her, but the embrace still felt reassuring and good.
“Things were going so well and then you just wandered off like that,” she said as he buried his face into the nape of her neck. “I thought I’d weirded you out or something!”
“No, not…not that,” he meekly replied.
“What is it?” she asked. “You can tell me.”
He paused. “A few…a few cousins of mine are acting up. They’re in serious trouble with the law. I tried talking to them, but I don’t know if it helped. Or…or if anything can help.”
“You poor dear.”
Chapter 2: MOURNING
Every night, Nightshadow dreamed of killing him. His hands choked the life out of him or, with a sudden twist, snapped his neck. He dropped him off buildings or pressed his squirming head down underwater. Sometimes, he bashed his fists bloody, turning his pale skull face red. Always, he heard him snickering and laughing, apparently even enjoying his own murder.
“You’re my forever.”
Nightshadow started awake, gasping and drenched in smelly sweat. His hand clutched at his chest. Next to him, Piper lay naked, passed out face-first onto a pillow from too much wine, Vicodin, and sex. Her amber-brown hair spilled down over the freckled, cream-white skin of her back. She eerily resembled a dead body and Nightshadow even checked to see if she was still breathing.
He studied her for a moment, wondering if she could be one of the Death Reaper’s children. At twenty-three years old, Piper fit right into the ideal age range. Here she was in his bed, too, and properly positioned to do a large amount of damage to his life. He’d have to investigate her background again and clear her of any suspicion. She probably wasn’t part of some super-criminal plot, but he had to make sure.
The Invincibles Page 3