The Superhero's Son (Book 6): The Superhero's World

by Lucas Flint

  Speaking of the G-Men, Shade sent me a message from President Plutarch, who apparently had heard of how we destroyed the Mother World and wanted to thank me and Blizzard for our help. He even invited us to the White House to get medals for our duty, though we wouldn’t be able to go there until we recovered, because we were too tired to travel right now. Shade also told me that Cadmus told her to thank me for him, though she also added that she was still free on Saturdays if I ever wanted to go out (which almost made Blizzard jump out of her bed and hunt Shade down there and then).

  But it wasn’t all good. San Francisco, after all, was still in ruins. Tons of people had still been killed by that one ship’s initial attack and there had also been untold property damage done. But President Plutarch had announced to the nation that rebuilding was already underway and both the Neohero Alliance and Independent Neoheroes for Justice had pledged to provide as much manpower, money, and resources as possible to help in the rebuilding process. That included Strike and the New Heroes, who were going back to California to participate in the rebuilding process and also reunite with surviving friends and family. I told Strike to call me if they needed any help rebuilding, though I doubted it would be any time soon, again due to the fact that Blizzard and I were still recovering.

  As for the Justice Statue, it was going to be rebuilt, but not right away. I had been told that it was also going to be redesigned, that they were going to add me and Strike onto it, thanks to our help in defeating the Pokacu, but regardless, I was glad it was going to be rebuilt. It would hopefully stand as symbol of unity between the two organizations well into the future; more importantly, a symbol of unity for the entire superhero community.

  Mom, surprisingly enough, was almost entirely uninjured. She hadn’t even known that she had been kidnapped, actually, and so was incredibly confused when we woke her up and told her about what happened. Still, she had been glad we saved her and had gone back to Texas the next day, though not without first giving me a big hug before she left.

  I also called Tara and Malcolm, letting them know what happened and that I was safe. They were both happy to hear that and Malcolm even told me to come back to Texas so we could hang out again sometime. I had told him that I would as soon as Blizzard and I got better; in fact, I even offered to introduce Blizzard to them, which made Malcolm excited, though Tara, a little less so.

  Graleex’s mother ship was kept in the custody of the NHA, who were going to have our engineers study it so we could figure out how it worked and how to apply Pokacu technology to our own equipment. The mother ship apparently also had a huge reserve of powerless gas on it, which was yet another reason to keep it from the government. Surprisingly, Plutarch allowed us to keep it, maybe as a reward for saving the planet from the Pokacu again. We also kept the other downed ships and bodies, though there was talk of donating some of the dead Pokacu to universities for scientific study.

  In any event, things, I think, are going to get better. I worried about San Francisco and the INJ and the New Heroes, but with everyone chipping in to help, I figured that that city would be back on its feet in no time.

  It was one week after the destruction of the Mother World that Blizzard and I were lying alone in the medical station on separate beds. The rest of the team was out fighting some new supervillain who had apparently shown up out of the blue, using salvaged Pokacu tech to make himself into a threat. That meant we were all alone here, save for Carl, the House’s AI, who was keeping an eye on us and on the House in general to make sure we were safe.

  Blizzard and I were talking about what movies we were going to go see after we recovered when the doors to the medical station opened suddenly. We looked over to see two people enter the room: Omega Man, who was in a brand new, cleaner suit, complete with combed and clean hair, and Nicknacks, who looked a lot better himself, with his armor and skin no longer as badly damaged as before.

  I immediately sat up in my bed, but Omega Man raised a hand and said, “No need to move, Kevin. You’ll just hurt yourself.”

  I stopped trying to sit up, but I still said, “What are you guys doing here? I mean, not that I’m upset to see you, but—”

  “We came because we never got a chance to properly thank you for saving the Earth,” said Omega Man. He gestured at Nicknacks. “And Nicknacks, too, of course, though I’ve already thanked him for his help. He’s here for a different reason.”

  “Oh, it was nothing,” I said, waving off Omega Man’s thanks. “We blow up planets all the time. Just a typical day in the life of a superhero.”

  “Well, you deserve thanks anyway,” said Omega Man. “But there’s something else we’d like to discuss with you. We were supposed to announce it at the unveiling of the Justice Statue, but the Pokacu attack forced us to delay it, though we intend to announce it sometime soon now that things have calmed down somewhat.”

  “What is it?” I said. “Does it involve us?”

  “Somewhat, yes,” said Nicknacks. “Bolt, do you remember the Neohero Academy? It was the school we had established here on Hero Island for young superhumans like you and Blizzard, where they could be trained in how to use their powers for good.”

  I nodded. “I do, but I never visited it. It was shut down when it turned out that Vision had infiltrated it and was using it as a place to brainwash students into their cult, right?”

  Omega Man frowned and looked away, like he was ashamed of that fact. “Sadly, yes. And it’s been closed ever since, as you no doubt know.”

  I nodded again. In fact, I passed the old Neohero Academy campus whenever I had to go to HQ from the House. I never really stopped to look at it or anything, mostly because I’d been so busy and the building had been closed off to everyone, including NHA members.

  “Well, we’re reopening it,” said Omega Man. “We’ve purged the NHA of all possible Visionists and gotten rid of any teaching materials with any Visionist slant. This time, we’re starting afresh, with new teachers, new staff, and even a brand new building and location.”

  “Not only that, but the INJ will be helping as well,” said Nicknacks. “It will be a joint effort between the two organizations, featuring teachers from both groups. This is to make it harder for Vision or anyone else to take control of the school and try to brainwash the students again.”

  “Really?” I said. “Where will its new location be?”

  “It will be in Washington, DC,” said Omega Man, “which we decided upon as a compromise between the two organizations. We are even renaming it.”

  “What are you renaming it to?” I said.

  “The Theodore Jason Academy for Young Superhumans,” said Nicknacks.

  I blinked. “You’re naming it after … after Dad?”

  “Yes,” said Omega Man. “Genius was never a big supporter of the old school, primarily because of its Visionist slant. But he always did value education, and since this school will have no Visionist influence whatsoever, we thought it only appropriate to name after one of the most legendary superheroes of all time. Do you think he would have approved?”

  “I …” I felt so overcome with emotion, but finally I said, “Yes, I think he would.”

  “Good to know,” said Omega Man. “We will be opening the new school in the fall. And we want you and the rest of the Young Neos to be there when it opens.”

  “Yes,” said Nicknacks. “It was supposed to open much earlier than that, but thanks to the destruction of San Francisco, we’ve had to push back its opening day. We’re also still looking for students, though we’re almost finished in that area.”

  “Of course we’ll be there,” I said. I looked at Blizzard. “Right, Blizzard?”

  “Right,” said Blizzard. “But are we going to be students?”

  “No,” said Omega Man. “We’re going to bring in a whole bunch of new students from across the country. The Young Neos have traditionally never been students of the Academy anyway, so you will not be missing out on much.”

  “But there will
always be room for volunteers,” said Nicknacks. “So if you would like, you can help that way if we ever need it.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “We’ll definitely think about it.”

  “I knew we could count on you,” said Omega Man. “Now, if you will excuse me, I must go. The Midnight Menace and I are going to make a joint announcement about this to the public later today, so I have to get ready to be on camera.” He groaned. “I hate having to clean up for the camera, but I guess that’s what you have to do whenever you appear on the camera. Recover well.”

  With that, Omega Man turned and left, but Nicknacks did not follow. He just stood there, like he was trying to think of the words to say, which was kind of awkward, to be honest.

  “What’s up, Nick?” I said. “Do you have something you’d like to say to us?”

  Nicknacks nodded. “Yes. I wanted to thank you for destroying the Mother World.”

  “Wasn’t that what you and Omega Man did just now?” said Blizzard.

  “Yes, but I wanted to thank you personally,” said Nicknacks. He put a hand on his chest. “I never thought I would live to see the day that the Mother World was destroyed. And I never thought I would be the one to do it.”

  “Aren’t you upset that your species is dead, though?” I said. “You’re all alone in the universe now, right?”

  Nicknacks shook his head. “Not necessarily.”

  “Not necessarily?” I said. “But didn’t all your people die when the Mother World died?”

  “Only those still connected to her, which was a good majority of them,” said Nicknacks. “But I was looking through some of the files retrieved from the mother ship that Mecha Knight captured and I learned that I was not the only one to break away from her control. According to the files, somewhere out there in the universe is a group of Pokacu who successfully broke away from the Mother World and fled into space to establish their own culture and world separate from her influence.”

  “Really?” I said. “Where are they?”

  “I don’t know, but the files had a few clues that the Pokacu were using to track them down,” said Nicknacks. “And I think I am going to continue that search for them, using those clues as a starting point. I am going to seek out these survivors and see if I can convince them to come to Earth, where they would be safe.”

  “You mean you’re leaving the planet?” said Blizzard. She sounded disappointed. “When? And when will you return?”

  “I’m leaving tomorrow, after the announcement of the new school is made,” said Nicknacks. “As for when I will get back, I don’t know. I don’t even know if these Pokacu are still alive or if they perished while searching for a new home world. All I know is that I have to find them. You probably don’t understand, since humanity isn’t anywhere near extinction, but for me, it is important, because if I can find these Pokacu, then I can rebuild our people and make us great once again.”

  Nicknacks sounded genuinely emotional and sincere when he said that, so I said, “All right, Nick. If that’s what you want to do, you have my full support. We’ll be waiting for when you get back and we’ll throw a big party when you return.”

  “Thanks,” said Nicknacks. “And now, I, too, must leave in order to prepare my vessel for the launch tomorrow.”

  Nicknacks turned to leave, but then I remembered something and said, “Nick?”

  Nick stopped and looked over his shoulder at me. “Yes, Bolt?”

  “Who will take your place on the Leadership Council while you’re away?” I said.

  “I don’t know,” said Nick. “Omega Man spoke of starting a new election to elect my replacement to the Council, though I do not know when that will be.”

  “Ah, okay,” I said. “I guess this is good bye, then, and good luck.”

  “Thanks,” said Nicknacks again.

  With that, he finally left the room, leaving me and Blizzard alone. We then resumed talking about our plans for the future after we recovered, but in the back of my mind, I hoped that Nicknacks would be okay and that the new school would be fine. More importantly, though, I hoped that my friends in California would be able to rebuild San Francisco and that everyone there would be able to return to their normal lives once this was all done and over with.

  Epilogue 1

  Thaumaturge—former member of the NHA Leadership Council, former supervisor of the Young Neos, and current head of Vision—stood in a dark room with the two dozen or so Visionists who he had summoned here. Due to the low light of the room and the dark robes each Visionist wore, it was difficult to identify each member. That was deliberate on Thaumaturge’s part, because Vision had survived so far only because no one member knew the identity of everyone else. Only Thaumaturge knew all of the names and identities of Vision’s surviving members, but he was in no danger of being captured by the G-Men or the NHA or INJ, so he was not afraid of being found out. Even so, his position in the organization meant that he couldn’t be as active as he’d like, which made it much harder for Vision to actually do anything.

  Everyone stood in a loose circle around Thaumaturge, who stood on a small platform above them. Whispers and murmurs could be heard in the crowd, no doubt the various Visionists wondering why they had all been called here today. That wasn’t surprising to Thaumaturge, seeing as he always kept the reasons for meetings secret in case their messages were intercepted by hostile forces.

  A quick head count told Thaumaturge that everyone was present who was supposed to be present, so he decided to begin the meeting.

  “My fellow Visionists,” said Thaumaturge, raising his hands, his loud and ancient voice instantly silencing the murmurs and whispers that had ruled the room before. “You may all be wondering why I called this meeting today. Rest assured that I did not call this meeting frivolously, for I am well aware of the dangers that the rest of the blind world pose to us, which is why it is rarely wise for us to gather together in one location like this.”

  No one said anything, but then, that was the way these meetings always went. The last person to speak up out of turn had been banished to another realm by Thaumaturge’s magical powers; it had been an effective deterrent to interruptions.

  “As many of you know, we have faced only setback after setback since the capture of our leader, the Visionary,” said Thaumaturge. “First, the Visionary was sent into a coma by a bullet to the brain, taken into custody by the government, and his personal assistant captured, while our great leader’s personal journal was leaked on the Internet and exposed many of our plans to the world; then one of our own, Ghost, was de-powered and killed by the son of Master Chaos; and finally, another one of us, Mimic, was arrested and thrown into Ultimate Max, while our alliance with the son of Master Chaos failed when the boy was killed by our eternal enemy, Bolt.”

  Thaumaturge could sense the rage and anger emanating from the crowd as he listed off their recent failures. He didn’t like to dwell on them himself, but he had to in order to make sure everyone was on the same page.

  “But soon, we will reverse our fortunes,” said Thaumaturge. “The second Pokacu invasion has completely rattled the whole world, from the East to the West. The destruction of San Francisco has created a lack of faith in our government and the NHA and INJ. There is now an opening for us in which to strike down our enemies and spread the message of equality between normal humans and superhumans once and for all.”

  “How?” came a gruff voice from underneath a hooded man standing near the back of the crowd.

  The sudden voice caused everyone to look over at the man. Due to his hood, it was impossible to see him, but Thaumaturge quickly identified him as Wrath, a superhuman with powers that made even Thaumaturge uneasy.

  “How, you ask?” said Thaumaturge.

  “Yeah, how?” said Wrath. He didn’t sound frightened of Thaumaturge at all, even though he knew what the consequences of speaking out of turn were. “Are you going to have us fight the NHA, INJ, and G-Men or maybe try to assassinate President Plutarch again? B
ecause that worked out so well the last time.”

  Wrath’s sarcasm was biting, but Thaumaturge kept his cool. “We won’t do it. We cannot do it. The President is too well-protected.”

  “Then what’s your plan?” said Wrath. “I’m listening.”

  The rest of the Visionists turned to look at Thaumaturge again. Thaumaturge suddenly felt nervous under their collective gaze, even though they were all more curious than anything.

  “It is simple,” said Thaumaturge. “We are not going to do it. But Bolt is.”

  The earlier curiosity of the Visionists immediately gave way to shock and even disbelief. There was more muttering among the people, almost loud enough for Thaumaturge to hear now.

  “Impossible,” said Wrath. “Bolt is our enemy. He hates our guts. There’s no way he’d ever help us.”

  “Did I say his help would be willing?” said Thaumaturge. “I have already foreseen his resistance, which is why I have come up with a plan to crush it. Alana, please join me.”

  From out of the crowd came a young woman, wearing the same robes as everyone else, who then climbed onto the platform next to Thaumaturge. She did not say anything; in fact, she was very quiet, so quiet that Thaumaturge could not even hear her breathe.

  Thaumaturge put his hands on her shoulders. “This is our newest member, a young woman named Alana. And once she works her magic on Bolt … he will do whatever we ask of him, no matter what.”