by Pen
“I know you. You’re Jasmin, right. Jasmin Michaels. Or Backoff. You’re a hero.”
“How do you know my name? What happened to me? Where am I? What did you do?”
Annie could feel the well of force coming off Backoff. The revived hero possessed the ability to absorb energy waves from around her and convert them into pure concussive force. Annie’s knowledge of her history was limited, but she didn’t think the other woman ever showed this much power.
Of course, she never died and came back to life either.
“I don’t know how to say this. I—”
“What happened to me? Tell me, dammit!”
“You died. Powerhouse killed you. He snapped your neck.”
“I—died?”
The waves of force radiating off Backoff’s body seemed to weaken. Annie knew she could strike now if she wanted, but it would do no good. Backoff’s protective field would just absorb the power of her blow and store it for another attack. Nor was she sure physical violence was really the answer to this problem.
Backoff met her eyes. Annie could see her tears.
“I don’t remember. My memory is a mess. I remember arguing with Legend. I remember meeting with Patton. Then it is all a blur. But how could I have died? And how did I get here?”
“Look around you. You’re in a graveyard. They must have buried you here. I don’t know. I didn’t even get my powers until after you were dead. Patton used to tell me stories about you. Your death nearly broke him. I think he tried to make up for it when he trained me, but like everything else he does, he screwed that up.”
Annie could see the recognition in Backoff’s eyes. “Yeah, that’s Patton. Are you new at this then? Did they stop Powerhouse?”
“They stopped him.” But he got away with it. He’s on your old partner’s team now. Annie didn’t know how to tell her the full truth though. Not now. Not minutes after such a volatile reaction to her rebirth.
Backoff nodded. She looked down at her hands. “The gauntlets are different. Why did they change the costume before they buried me?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know why you’re alive. I don’t know why your clothes haven’t decayed one bit if you were buried in them.”
“Decayed? How long has it been? A week? Two?”
“You died over two years ago, Jasmin. A lot has changed in that time.”
“Like what?”
“Well, for starters—”
A blast of energy smashed into the ground between Annie and Backoff. The ground burned and blackened as it ripped another hole into the already wrecked cemetery. It kicked dirt and debris into the air as an ominous presence floated down from above.
* * *
“Finally, the day of my victory is at hand!”
As the figure passed through the smoke of their sudden assault, Annie made out the bulky suit of armor he wore. It was some kind of powered contraption, but its design made it look like it was cobbled together from garbage. Mismatched parts made the left boot rocket far larger than the right. The metal fists were both huge, though the right one was slightly bigger, with exit points for the laser beams on each fingertip. The head looked like a traffic cone surrounding a C.B. antenna. It was poorly spray-painted a metallic black, with splotches of the original metal showing through.
A clear view port rested in the power-suit’s chest. Annie could easily make out the face of Tycho Francis Carr inside the suit. His eyes burned with a rage she couldn’t begin to understand in comparison to the affable man she met minutes before.
Annie remembered Sybil’s last words before Backoff broke free of the dark matter field. This wasn’t the real Tycho Carr, but an impostor taking the real Carr’s place. Clearly whoever he was, he had decidedly super-villainous tendencies.
He dropped down and reached out with his smaller hand to grab Backoff by the throat before she could recover from the initial shock of his arrival.
“Yes, I’ve waited so long!”
Annie had no idea what this guy was talking about. But he clearly knew Backoff couldn’t absorb any energy if it passed the invisible field just a bit above her skin. It was how Powerhouse was able to kill her the first time and how this man looked to stop her again.
Annie threw her entire body forward. She brought her shoulder down as she struck the knee of the powered armor. She felt it give away as she barreled through it, knocking the suit and its owner off his feet.
He released his grip on Backoff as he stumbled. The armor seemed to respond to him as a second skin, probably fueled by a homemade neural network. Annie knew you could find such interfaces on the internet, but pretty much everyone knew such devices had a penchant for psychological damage.
Annie stepped up to Backoff’s side as the other woman rubbed at her throat.
“I don’t know who the heck you are, but I’m not going to stand here and let you hurt her.”
The false Carr smirked. “My name is Seifer Bates. But you can call me the Steel Master!”
“Yeah, okay.”
Annie stared the armored man down. She didn’t know why he was here or what he wanted, but she knew he wouldn’t leave here without a beating.
“Backoff, fool!”
Annie felt the blast rip past her. The concussive force sent the loose dirt and debris back into the air. But Steel Master showed no signs of harm on the impact.
“Yes, yes. Hit me with everything you got, my dear girl. Give me the energy that fuels you!”
Backoff raised her gauntlets, ready to channel her attack again.
“No, don’t!”
Annie threw herself towards the other woman. knocked Backoff to the side before she could fire. Both women hit the ground in a sprawl. Annie pushed herself up and met the angry glare of Backoff.
“What the hell? You screwed my shot!”
“He wants you to attack. He wants you to strike. Your first hit did nothing to him. I think he wants to somehow absorb your powers. It’s not that different from how you absorb the energy around you.”
“Then why try to kill me? That doesn’t make sense.”
“No, I think it does. But I have to verify my hunch first. And that means I get up close and personal with this guy. You need to hold back until you hear my call to strike. Understand?”
Backoff nodded.
“Good, keep your distance and don’t let him hit you. I’ll be back.”
Annie turned her attention back towards Steel Master. He loomed over them, his hand blaster raised as if to fire. But Annie already knew he wouldn’t, not if she was right about why he wanted Backoff.
She charged at him instead. He tried to raise his laser blasters to strike, but she was already too close. She drove a fist hard into the knee of Steel Master’s armor. It left a slight dent, but not nearly as much damage as she hoped. Whatever energy charged his hodge podge armor, it clearly reinforced the ramshackle construction.
Got to get through it. But how?
A large hand came down on her shoulder. Before she could react, Steel Master lifted her bodily into the air. He held her level to his own face, protected by the plasticine shield.
“You have become a nuisance, Libertad. You stand between me and ultimate power.”
“You want the dark matter.”
“I want, a living, breathing dark matter generator. Your new friend isn’t even human. Humans die. She’s just an astronomical anomaly that thinks it’s a person.”
“Better than a bastard with no care for anyone but himself. But you’ve answered my question. I know what you want, And I know how to beat you.”
Annie swung a foot straight up into the plasticine viewport. She threw every ounce of strength she could behind the blow. But she was rewarded with exactly what she hoped to see. The fractures were slight, but she could make out the clear damage to the shell.
“You can’t hurt me, you little fool. Soon, I will be invincible!”
“Soon you’ll be paste.”
Annie drove her foot into the
viewport again. This time the shell spider-webbed at the impact. As she brought up her foot for the third blow, she knew she had him.
“Backoff, hit the viewport now!”
As her foot smashed into the plasticine shell, she watched it shatter into a dozen pieces.
The blast of force came just a second later. It shook her frame right down to her bones, but she was only getting the wake of the concussive energy. The main brunt of the attack ripped straight into the now opened port. She watched the blast shove Bates straight out of his control chair. He slammed hard into the back of his chamber. Annie flinched at the impact. She knew Bates wouldn’t walk away today after that impact.
The Steel Master armor went slack without Bates’ mental command. The grip around her shoulder gave out and Annie dropped hard to the ground in front of the armor.
Backoff rushed to her side. “Are you alright?”
Annie pulled herself upright. “I’m good. I’m tougher than I look.”
“Yeah, I’ve been there.”
* * *
It took only a couple hours in Doctor Daly’s lab to confirm Annie’s hypothesis. Annie sat by Backoff’s side as he delivered the news.
“Bates was a bastard, but he was right about one thing, Ms. Michaels. You’re not quite human anymore. Your genetic structure contains the typical oxygen, hydrogen and carbon, but almost ten percent of it seems to defy any of my scans”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’re living, breathing dark matter. Your body replicates several of the aspects of dark energy we understand, absorbing energy waves. When Powerhouse killed you, he actually sent you into a sort of hibernation. Your body generated more internal dark matter. Once it was completed, the outside force applied when Annie tried to pierce the shell awoke you.”
“So I’m not a human being anymore?”
Daly shrugged. “You’re as human as you wish to be, Ms. Michaels. But you may literally be incapable of dying. Every trauma that would kill a normal human may very well just cause you to regenerate with more dark matter.”
“I don’t know how to take all of that,” Backoff said. “I’ve lost years and now I’m not even what I thought I was.”
Annie rested a hand on the other woman’s shoulder. “You can be anything you want to be now. You’ve got a second chance at life. You can still be a hero, or you can set up whatever life you want.”
She shook her head. “It’s a lovely thought. But I’m officially dead. That’s going to cause problems.”
“Panopticon can take care of that.”
“Who?”
“They’re a loose affiliation of people from around the world, all working together to make the world a better place. Doctors, scientists, economists, soldiers, hackers, even retired heroes. We’ve got the folks that can help you get back on your feet. Set you up on a new track with a new identity.”
“In exchange for what?”
Annie shrugged. “I’ve never know Panopticon to demand much of anything. They’ll set you up to with what you need, because we don’t walk into a situation without solving it. That means making sure you’ve got a life to lead.”
“And what if I don’t know what I want?”
“Perhaps I can help with that.” The female voice echoed through the room from every device capable of emitting speech.
Backoff was the only one slightly surprised. The rest of the room knew Sybil’s slightly distorted voice.
Annie cleared her throat. “Sybil is the guiding point for Panopticon. She identifies challenges and threats and assigns the operatives for each mission.”
“Thank you, Annabelle. Panopticon always needs more field agents. But very few of them wish to give up their day to day life and work full time. If you want a purpose, we can find it for you, Jasmin. Join Annie, Daly and the thousands of other people out there improving this place we call home.”
“Or what?”
“It’s as Annie said. You can live your new life anyway you wish. But the Panopticon can use someone like you.”
Backoff slowly rose from her seat. But Annie could already tell from her demeanor, she had made a decision.
“I’ll join you. All I’ve ever wanted was to be a hero. Hell, I died trying to save my city. I don’t know if I want to live my life talking to a disembodied voice, but I’m more than ready to find a new place in the world.”
Annie rose up and rested a hand on Backoff’s shoulder. “You don’t have to do this. You’re not obligated to join us.”
“I understand. But Sybil is right. I don’t really know what else I can do with my life. Maybe being a hero isn’t your thing, Annie, but it is mine. I want to be out there working every day.”
Annie nodded. “You’re a better person than me, Jasmin.”
“It’s Jazz. And I’m not. We all have our own paths. I saw what you did today for me, Annie. You’ve got something to give to the world too. You just need to figure out how you want that to happen.”
Before she could react, Jazz’s arms were around her, pulling her into a deep hug.
“Thanks. Thanks for everything.”
“You’re welcome, Jazz.”
They stood together for several seconds until Sybil’s voice rose from the speakers around them again. “I hate to interrupt the moment, but I have reports of widespread panic on the outskirts of Toronto. It may be nothing, but word of wendigos is already spreading. Backoff, are you ready for your first job?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s do this, Sybil.”
“A helicopter will retrieve you from the university helipad in five minutes. You should get to the roof immediately.”
Backoff turned to the others. “Doctor Daly, thanks for your help in figuring this out. Annie, I can never say thanks enough for pulling me out of that cocoon.”
“Then don’t. Go. Save Toronto. I’ll be here if you ever want to talk again.”
Backoff nodded, but said nothing else as she left the room, her date with destiny clear.
Annie’s date was somewhere back at the aftermath of the party, probably hungover with another girl. She’d done good, sure, but Annie needed a bit more to life than that.
She raised an eyebrow to Doctor Daly.
“Want to get a drink?” he said.
“It’s nine a.m. And I don’t drink.”
“Neither do I.”
She reached out and pulled Daly in close to her. His shirt ripped as her lips met his. He didn’t seem to mind as his hands found her hips.
Maybe tonight won’t be a total bust after all.
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UNMASKED
T. Mike McCurley
Breaking in is so much more pleasant with the right music. I could hear Janis Joplin down the hall when I stuck my head through the window, and that meant Mom was busy. Pulling myself up onto and across the ledge was an exercise in pain, but I managed to get my torso into the room. I could see my bed there in front of me, all cozy and welcoming, with the rather ironic Kid Dynamo poster above it. As usual, I gave the poster the finger and pushed with my feet to wriggle the rest of me into the room.
The rusted bolts of the fire escape gave way and it collapsed, the grate falling away toward the street three stories below. On the other side of the window, I went face first into the floor, slamming my already abused face into the linoleum and muffing a recovery roll by falling over sideways, planting my legs in the pictures and assorted crap on my nightstand. Combined with the metallic jangling from outside, the crash of sound was nearly deafening. Glass broke, a small stereo took flight, and about ten pounds of random stuff clattered to the floor. I steadied myself, managing with a barely muffled curse to land my right palm on a jagged piece of glass picture frame. The glass drove about a half inch deep, right through my glove. I clenched my fist and tried to ignore the pain as I stumbled to my feet.
Appropriately, the album switched tracks to “Cry Baby” as I slid the shard of glass free and tore the mask off my head.
I didn’t have much time. There was blood on the floor and I had it running out of my hand. Getting air past my nose was nigh on to impossible, and the hot pain I felt in it told me it was probably broken. Again. I reached back for the concealed zipper at the base of my neck and had just closed my finger and thumb over the tab when the knock came on my door.
“Edward?” came Mom’s voice. “Are you okay in there?”
The knob rattled. I pulled and tugged on the zipper. It finally gave and hissed its way down my back.
Another knock, a little more frantic this time.
“I’m fine,” I called out, although it came out sounding like I said “I’b fide” due to the squished nose that was still dripping blood down the front of my suit.
“Why is this door locked?” she asked. The knob rattled some more.
I peeled off the top. The front of it was splashed with what looked like a couple gallons of blood.
“Edward Cornelius Wallace! You open this door this instant!”
Demands like that didn’t come often, and with my whole name getting used, I knew I was on borrowed time. I wiped at my nose with the uniform top and yelped in surprise as the crunching sound announced I had definitely broken it.
Rattle-rattle-CLICK. My brain was still processing the sound when the door flew open and mom was there with a key in her hand. Her shriek of alarm was no surprise to me. I knew it was coming the moment I saw that door swing. Luckily it covered the muttered curse that slid past my split lips.
“Edw—” she began, but even my name fell away as she looked up and down the sight before her.
Bright blue leggings with yellow flashing. Heavy yellow boots. The belt of black webbing, strong enough to support a tank. Above the waistband a toned, muscular abdomen and chest, both sporting fresh bruises and drops of shiny blood from my nose. If the yellow gloves weren’t there, she’d see the banged up knuckles. And then my face, which currently looked like I’d stuck it in a blender. The top of my uniform, spattered with enough crimson to look like it had been through the Victory Riots, dangling from my right glove.