Super World Two

by Lawrence Ambrose

  So Jamie slumped into a lounge chair in the front yard next to Karen, Terry, Kevin, and Kylee, telekinetically summoning a bottle of wine from the kitchen, while Dennis, Jake, and Cal squinted across the fields toward where Horner and Mayes had taken their epic battle into the air. Jamie took a long sip of wine and closed her eyes.

  "Let me know how it all turns out," she muttered.

  "Wise choice," said Karen Clarkson. "You just need to relax for a minute without the weight of the world on your shoulders."

  Kevin disappeared. Not teleported – just took off in a sprint that broke the sound barrier in a fraction of a section – and he was gone. Jamie was almost curious enough to zoom her telescopic vision in on them.

  "Oh oh," Terry Mayes murmured.

  "Kev – " Karen cut herself off with a shake of her head. "Jamie, you should do something. He's just a boy!"

  "A very fast boy," Cal observed. "I doubt they could lay a finger on him if he didn't want them to."

  It was an interesting question – how they all matched up – Jamie thought. Even more interesting how they'd match up against their government counterparts – or the Elementals. So many "imponderables," as her dad liked to say. One of her dads, anyway.

  Thomas reappeared suddenly, covered with plant debris and dirt, his clothing hanging in tatters.

  "Goin' home to change," he grunted. "Be back in a bit." He paused to aim a rueful half-smile at Karen Clarkson. "Damn, that boy of yours is quick. Makes Ali look like slow-motion."

  Greg Horner wandered in a few minutes later, accompanied by Kevin Clarkson. Considering that Horner looked like he'd emerged from a major World War 2 battle – his fatigues even more shredded and soiled than Thomas Mayes' – he appeared to be engaged in a perfectly amiable conversation with the younger man.

  "Dude," said Jake. "What happened out there? Please tell me you beat his ass?"

  Horner offered him a mellow shrug. "We both got in some licks. Figure it was about a draw. But I'll tell you one thing" – he gave Jake a lopsided grin – "it felt damn good to let loose. And another thing, I feel sorry for any sorry-ass aliens that get in our way." He tapped Kevin on the shoulder. "And this kid ain't no slouch, either. Neither of us could touch him."

  Kevin beamed under the older man's large hand. "That's not terribly difficult given that I can, in effect, freeze time."

  "I always wanted to do that back in debate class," said Cal. "I always thought of the right rebuttal about two minutes too late."

  "Can you really freeze people in your head?" Kylee asked.

  "If they're moving at around normal speed."

  "How much faster can you see things?"

  Kevin pursed his lips in calculation. "At this point, it would only be a rough guess. Perhaps one to two hundred times faster. I believe my thinking is in synch with my speed, so timing how fast I run could provide a definitive answer."

  When Thomas returned a short time later in clean clothes, the atmosphere in the yard was mellow, close to comradely. Terry Mayes was fixing all of Dennis's tools and equipment one by one, resolving mysteries of malfunction that in some cases had endured for years. Kylee was playing tag with Steven, which was proving to be a case of mission impossible, and Jamie and the other adults were quietly discussing the nature of their union. Jake and Tildie were in favor of Jamie taking a leadership role, while Greg Horner was skeptical. Karen Clarkson favored a democracy, where decisions had to be discussed and agreed-upon by all. She also believed that the government ought to have a final say, in any case. "That's why we have government, isn't it?" she asked. "To settle disputes and be the final judge?"

  Jamie was starting to believe that her notion of a united team under her leadership was a fool's dream. But she felt she had to try.

  "Hey, everyone," she said, when they were gathered together under a late-afternoon cloudy sky. "Look, I want you to know that I'm not into giving orders or taking charge. I've never served in the military. I taught high school math, not military science. But the way I see it, I'm the only one who has the experience in dealing with both government authority and hostile aliens. I have led teams on dangerous and violent missions and taken the fight against enemies here and in space – alone, and with others. You don't have time to debate a lot of stuff in battle, as I'm sure Jake and Greg understand."

  "You're damn right," said Jake.

  "But the wrong leader can get a lot of people killed," said Greg.

  "There's no one more fit than Jamie to lead us," Tildie stated. "That's an obvious fact. But we can't force you to agree with that. I say we take a vote, and everyone here agree to accept it."

  "I suppose I could accept that," said Karen.

  "Okay." Tildie looked around. "Let's get this settled right now. Everyone in favor of Jamie being our leader, raise your hands."

  Everyone seemed as startled by the suddenness of it as Jamie was. Her family, of course, immediately thrust their arms into the air. So did Tildie, and after some hesitation, Jake, Karen, Kevin, and Terry. Greg Horner and Thomas Mayes stood unmoving.

  "In my opinion," said Horner, "a person with military experience should be in charge of a military unit."

  "You don't have any experience with people like these," said Jake. "Or a situation like this. Besides, no offense, but you were never that great with people. Great at killing people, but you weren't no leader."

  "Neither were you."

  "Exactly the point. But this lady has been. As she said, she's led difficult missions against people and aliens and come out on top. Hell, the government tried to nuke her here, and she survived and renegotiated from a position of power. None of us could've done that. She might be the only person from even her world who could've pulled that off."

  "Come on. She's a fucking high school teacher."

  "She might've been, old buddy. But she sure as hell ain't now. She's the most powerful 'super-person' here, unless one of us is holding out. With her experience and past success and her abilities she should be the one to lead. We need to present a common front and work together against Tomlinson's toy soldiers and the aliens."

  "Hear, hear," said Tildie.

  "All right," Thomas grumbled. "I'll follow Jamie's lead. But I ain't in no damn military, and don't expect me to obey orders blindly like some brain-dead grunt."

  "Fair enough," said Jamie.

  They all stared at Greg Horner, who after a long, scowling moment lifted his powerful shoulders in a stoical shrug.

  "Okay, fuck it," he said. "I'll play along. But as Mayes said, I'm not following orders blindly."

  "I wouldn't, either," said Jamie. "But as Jake pointed out, we need to present a common front and work together – for now. It's not like this would be a permanent military unit. After we destroy the alien ship, we'll go our separate ways."

  "I'm down with that," said Thomas.

  Horner and the others nodded. Jamie allowed herself to relax a notch. What had seemed impossible a few minutes ago now seemed within reach.

  "Thanks," Jamie said. "Please believe me, it's not about ego. It's about survival. We've got two days before we meet the government's 'enhanced' soldiers, and I think we should take those days to learn everything we can about our abilities and how we can work together. We need to test each other out, just as Thomas and Greg did, short of killing each other."

  "I'm no soldier," Karen muttered.

  "I know. But you still need to discover what you're capable of. I'm not sure you or Terry would come with us on an actual combat mission. In my original world, Terry was a healer and you were invaluable as an interrogator – a human lie detector."

  "Or my son," said Karen. "I wouldn't want him in the line of fire."

  "Or our daughter," Dennis added.

  "Sounds like some serious nepotism shit going down here," said Thomas. "We all putting our lives on the line one way or the other."

  "Thomas is right," Kylee announced. "All our lives are on the line. I might be only ten, but I'm probably more powerful than mo
st people here."

  "Don't be too sure about that little girl," Horner growled.

  "The little lady's speaking truth." Thomas met his glare. "She be like Jamie's Mini-Me."

  Cal's chuckle fell short when both Jamie and Dennis shot harsh glances at him.

  "I don't see children fighting in a military unit," Jamie said through clenched teeth.

  "But you don't usually see children who can fly or lift tractors with their minds, either," said Jake. "What if we leave one of our most powerful people home and we lose because of it? What good is that gonna do her?"

  "Soldier boy makes a point." Thomas cocked an eyebrow at Jamie. "You want to lead, girl, you gotta lead by example. Put it all on the line."

  Jamie fought an irrational, overwhelming urge to knock her large Afro-American neighbor and Jake Culler into near-orbit.

  She gave a small start as Dennis appeared at her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. His reassuring squeeze dialed her down. If she was the leader, she had to consider the welfare of her unit, had to place that above her personal selfish interests. And it was hard to argue with Jake's point that if they lost, where would that leave Kylee? There was no question that her daughter was one of the strongest, maybe not as strong as Thomas and Greg but with a wider super-skill set. Also, she'd had longer to learn her abilities. Jamie very grudgingly accepted those truths, as well as the possibility that her powers could make the difference between victory and defeat.

  "Okay," she spoke into the tense silence, willing her voice to calm. "As much as I don't want to admit it, you guys" – she looked at Thomas and Jake – "have a point. This is bigger than all of us, I know that. It's just when I think of putting my daughter in danger..."

  "I'll be in danger no matter what, Mom. Might as well let me do something that could help us all."

  Dennis and Cal were nodding, along with many of the others – even the ultra-protective Karen Clarkson.

  "So what I think we should do," Jamie continued, "is train together – all of us, including Kylee – and I'll make a decision at the time of the deployment or attack how to best use our people."

  "Assuming the Queen Bitch lets you have that option," Jake said.

  "We've already bumped heads a couple of times." Jamie gave him a thin smile. "I think she gets by now that I'm working with her, not for her. That goes for us as well. If she doesn't remember, I will definitely remind her."

  "Because you be the Queen Superfox." Thomas held up his hands and chuckled as Dennis glared at him. "No disrespect intended."

  "None taken." Jamie's smile developed a hitch as she thought of President Tomlinson. "Unless the President's team has someone more powerful than I am. Then it will get interesting."

  WARDEN AIR Force and Advanced Drone Testing Grounds occupied 314,288 acres in the plains 50 miles west of Fargo, North Dakota, carved out of farmland by Executive decree in the aftermath of Doomsday to deal with the enormous terrorist threats that were believed to exist at that time.

  That's what Jamie's dad told her the day before they all flew, either on their own power or in Jamie's telekinetic envelope, over to the Air Force base. Like Nellis on Jamie's world, Warden had become the stuff of popular conspiracy theories. Artificial intelligence systems were now being used in drones, which could determine on their own "death warrants" for wanted felons. Some miniaturized drones kept targeted individuals or groups under 24/7 surveillance. "Mini-drones" could also kill or stun people with neurotoxins. Some conspiracy people believed that mini-drones were ubiquitous and could be found anywhere, including innocent individuals' bathrooms and bedrooms. Cal wasn't sure if that was the case, but believed it was a goal of the current national security state, which he claimed "won't rest until it has every aspect of our lives logged into central data systems."

  Jamie didn't see any sign of mini-drones, but spotted plenty of the standard larger variety hovering in the skies over the base. Other than that, a pair of barracks squatted off to one side of the several thousand-acres of short prairie grass that had been reserved for their training with the government forces.

  Jamie had a sinking feeling as she recognized the leader of the twenty-five individuals in green, unmarked fatigues that met with them in the vast clearing hundreds of yards from the barracks: Jacob Kushner. Medium height, thin, and bald. Nothing physically intimidating about him at all – not that physical types correlated well to super-abilities – but he made Jamie think of a younger version of the Simpsons' Mr. Burns, and his arrogant and ethically indifferent behavior and words during their virtual meetings matched that impression. She strongly suspected that Kushner, as DARPA's Alternate Research Director, had a hand in WANDA's creation and her assignment as liaison to President Tomlinson, which further reduced her friendly regard for him.

  And now he stood before them, the commander of what they were calling the Enhanced Soldier Combat Unit, his reptilian smile holding some tension but also confidence, Jamie thought.

  "Can you read him?" Jamie asked Karen Clarkson. The older woman shook her head and whispered she'd need to get closer.

  The twenty-five people who lined up on either side of Dr. Kushner struck Jamie as more nervous and grim than confident. Jamie and her people had read the list of known abilities and assessments of those abilities of the government team, emailed to them only hours before their arrival in exchange for Jamie emailing them a similar list. She hadn't been entirely forthcoming about all her people's powers, and she doubted Kushner and his superiors had revealed everything to them, either. But training together would make secret-keeping difficult. She knew from experience that instinct took over in using one's abilities under stress.

  Before the first training exercise began, Jamie and Jake met with Jacob Kushner and a tall, very fit forty-something individual named Major Fred Harrington. This historic meeting, and the sessions that followed, Jacob Kushner announced, would be monitored by President Tomlinson's National Security Council, advisory staff, and various military and intelligence higher-ups, along with the President herself. He wanted Jamie and her people know that he was far from calling all the shots, but would be in "operational command" of the training exercises here and perhaps the ultimate combat mission.

  "By 'operational' command do you mean 'overall' command'?" Jake asked.

  "I believe centralizing command would be in all our interests," said Major Harrington.

  "Subject to your approval, of course," Kushner added.

  "I guess we'll see about that," said Jamie.

  Kushner clicked casually through a series of files and images on his laptop. "So you're still the apex in your group?"

  "As far as I know. You seemed to be near the top of your 'class,' too."

  "Myself, the Major here, and a few others, whom I'm sure you've checked over." Kushner regarded her candidly. "Mrs. Shepherd..." He paused. "May I call you Jamie?"

  "Yes."

  "And I'm Jacob. Look, Jamie – and Mr. Culler –"

  "Jake's fine."

  "Jake, Jamie. Believe it or not I don't want to get into a pissing contest. In all honesty, aside from five or six people, we don't have anyone special – not compared to you, and not in terms of the kinds of abilities this mission will undoubtedly require. We're going up against an enemy with technology that can neutralize or counter even abilities on your level. Being a bit stronger and more durable with a modicum of telekinetic capability isn't going to cut it."

  No one spoke for many moments. Then Jake cleared his throat.

  "What do you think will cut it?" he asked.

  "The biggest challenge we face is the alien vessel's proximity to the sun," said Kushner. "We have managed to obtain video and photos of it from our Solar Observation Array. We probably would never have spotted it if your psychic hadn't pointed us to its general location. We have to hope it's not aware that we've been observing it."

  Kushner swiveled his laptop so Jamie and Jake could view close-ups of a tiny black spot that looked like a flea clinging to the sun's ro
iling surface.

  "The color and design matches those of the Elemental ship we attacked," he said. "Though it's only a fraction of its size, as expected. Still, we're going mostly by faith in your psychic's vision that this is our target. As I believe you're aware, there are other alien civilizations monitoring our world and this solar system."

  "Have you asked the other aliens about this ship and the Elementals' threat?"

  "More than once," said Major Harrington. "The Zetas and Alphas – the only races we have semi-diplomatic relations with – have disavowed any knowledge of the Elementals' operations. But then it's general policy for them to refuse comment on their or other civilizations' activities – really, on other alien civilizations period. Nor have they confirmed or denied our own fate regarding possible self-destruction absent an alien attack."

  Jamie tried to visualize the tenuous relationship between Earth's covert advanced space program – representative of what her dad here called a "breakaway civilization" separate from what the average citizens of the world knew – and fell short. Her main image was of tightlipped aliens keeping their distance except for brief meetings filled with human questions which mostly drew stone-faced stares and contemptuous silence from their "space brothers and sisters."

  "So dealing with this threat is entirely our responsibility," Major Harrington continued. "So back to the difficulties of our mission: because of our target's current location, we cannot directly strike it with any of our weapons systems, even granting that we could penetrate the alien craft's defenses, which, given our previous encounter where you'd severely compromised the ship and it still was nearly able to stop our assault, seems highly unlikely."

  "We'd need to get into the ship and destroy it from the inside, as I did before," said Jamie.

  "That's the only strategy we've devised to this point. Ideally, you'd teleport inside the ship alone or with a team. We have no one capable of teleportation, but I understand your husband is?"