Not Your Villain

by C. B. Lee

  “Are you okay?” he gasps.

  “Your hair is on fire.”

  The acrid smell comes from his own burnt hair, falling out in dead, useless pieces, losing its bright color as it hits the ground.

  “It’s fine; it’s just hair.” He grabs what’s left of the coffee table and pulls it over them as a shield. Genevieve falters as her power fades; sweat beads on her brow, and every time she lifts something it seems to take more effort.

  The room is a blur of shattered glass and crumbling walls, of punches and thudding bodies.

  Bells throws his arms over Emma protectively, wishing he could do more in this moment.

  “The tantalum! Now!” Genevieve shouts out.

  In the sudden quiet, Bells hazards a look. The living room is destroyed, but Orion has been restrained in the cuffs. She doesn’t look at all defeated, just angry.

  “You have no idea what’s in store for you now; things have already been set in motion,” Orion taunts.

  Bells still has the datachip in his pocket with the video of Orion talking about her experiments. Without either Abby’s or her dad’s powers, they can’t do a nationwide broadcast on every single DED as they planned, but they can do something. They can start.

  Abby plugs the chip into a console, and the data is gone, sent into the Net. But before Bells can suggest taking Orion herself to the authorities, or getting her to confess during a live broadcast, Claudia shows up at full strength and whisks her away. “Good luck being villains,” Claudia says, shooting them all satisfied smirks.

  Bells laughs; they have all the evidence. It’s Orion who’s going to be revealed as a villain as that holovid makes its rounds across the Net.

  But things don’t quite go according to plan.

  Part 2: Get Set

  Ch. 6...

  The first wave of news is expected. Chameleon’s betrayal of the League bombards every channel, every billboard holo, every individual DED. Every citizen in the Collective has seen the same seamlessly edited video of an aggressive Barry Carmichael during training and Chameleon in his rainbow-hued bodysuit with Wilton Lysander’s voiceover warning everyone that Chameleon is dangerous and not to be approached.

  Bells tries to take this in stride, tries to laugh at the new names people are giving him on the news, and jokes about “The Heinous Chameleon” with his friends. It’ll be over soon enough, once people realize Orion has been kidnapping villains and experimenting on them.

  But the next day, they can’t find the holovid on the Net. No one is talking about it, not even in the conspiracy forums.

  “I know there was something here.” Jess frowns as she scrolls through several windows on her DED. “There was a whole thread of people discussing it… but it’s gone.”

  They try once more. Jess also writes a succinct but clear article about the staged hero-villain battles and explains how the League is corrupt, but all of that and any clips of the holovid are removed within an hour of posting. The next time they post, the material is gone in twenty minutes, and then five.

  From the tinted windows of Emma’s car, they stare at the ruins of the Jones house, where they’ve just tried uploading the data again from Abby’s old console. Grey-suited officials of the Collective Authority are walking the perimeter, talking into their DEDs.

  “The League is on the lookout for whoever is trying to upload our information,” Emma muses. “What if we staggered posts from various public locations?”

  Bells shakes his head. The last thing they need is all of them in Corrections. Having his hero name dragged through the mud is bad enough; he doesn’t want any of his friends to get caught.

  Jess is on a vidcall with her mom, arguing in snippets of mixed Chinese and English. “My mom says we gotta cool it,” Jess says.

  Li Hua waves at them from the holo, and then the camera shifts.

  Abby looks over her shoulder. “Oh, is she still at the new house?”

  Jess nods, expanding the holo to show the nearly completed structure deep within the canyons in the Unmaintained zone: Genevieve and Abby’s new home. Flickering in the vid is her mom lifting a huge boulder as Genevieve floats structural beams into place.

  “So cool,” Emma says, peering into the video. “Hi, Mrs. Tran!”

  The video shifts to reveal Victor’s face. “You kids shouldn’t have to worry about all this. I know you’re upset that the video isn’t being viewed, but we’re working on a solution. Just focus on your schoolwork and don’t draw attention to yourselves.”

  “Okay, Dad,” Jess says, rolling her eyes and ending the call.

  Focus on school. How can they, when they need to get this information out there?

  At last the Collective Authority team leaves and they can enter the remains of Abby’s house. Abby’s computer console is intact, gleaming in the remains of the living room.

  “How about we try one more time with the video?” Bells suggests. “And then we get out of here before they come back.”

  Abby lifts her eyebrows. “We gotta go quick, though. They could be back any minute.”

  Emma grins, pulls her sunglasses down on her nose and turns on the car; its engine hums to life. “I’ve got this.”

  One last upload and a quick getaway in Emma’s car, and they’re giddy with excitement. This time, this time, it’s going to stick.

  They’re at the downtown ice cream parlor indulging Jess’ sweet cravings and planning their next move. Bells digs into his mint chip and is staring off into the distance when he sees smoke rising from the desert.

  “What’s that?”

  “An explosion! In the Unmaintained lands!”

  The patrons are whispering to one another, all staring at the flash of fire and the blur of smoke on the horizon.

  Jess freezes with her spoon halfway to her mouth. “That’s where we were,” she whispers.

  “Do you think… ” Abby wonders.

  “They’re destroying the evidence,” Emma says darkly.

  The music video projected onto the main wall of the ice cream parlor changes to a serious-looking Wilton Lysander. His slick, coiffed hair doesn’t move as he gestures wildly. “Very grave news for the Collective today… today we have uncovered a calamity. After the recent discovery of Chameleon’s defection to the United Villain’s Guild, I am shocked to say that our own Captain Orion has been caught doing illegal and immoral human experimentation for her own gain in these facilities in the Nevada region.”

  A familiar clip from their video plays, and Bells’ hope rises like a bubble. This is it. Their efforts have paid off, and the truth will be broadcast for everyone to witness.

  The bubble bursts.

  It’s not the entire video Abby recorded, just bits and pieces of Orion talking about her experiments and looking menacing as she paces in her home. There aren’t any mentions of the Collective or the League or that meta-humans—villains—were being kidnapped for these experiments.

  Other clips from the base, taken by security cameras, were edited into an incriminating compilation showing Captain Orion running a host of experiments: Orion walking through the base, perusing datasheets, smirking at vials of serum. There are shots that Bells doesn’t recognize from the base: a dark hallway with closed doors and indiscernible shadows behind them.

  In one clip of Captain Orion and two guards entering the base, Bells recognizes himself and Jess and Abby in disguise. There are more from that day: shots of Chameleon in his familiar green-hued bodysuit, masked, but walking through the base to make it seem he was a part of Orion’s scheme, even though there aren’t any clips of them together.

  The video transitions from scenes at the base to the Smashmobile speeding through Andover and another shot of the Jones’ house.

  “That photo is from a month ago,” Abby mutters. “Before I broke that window.”

  “And that’s the
corner of Main and Saffron,” Jess says. “It could have been from anytime Mom went out.”

  The camera jumps to Lysander again, panned out to show him standing in the ruins of the Jones’ old house. “It was here that Andover’s own Smasher and Shockwave confronted Captain Orion and defeated her in a stunning display of heroics before turning her in to the League.” Lysander gestures broadly. “Although this civilian home was destroyed in the process, citizens of Andover—and the Collective—can rest assured that they are now safe from Orion and her nefarious exploits.”

  The ice cream parlor is silent, save for the wet thwap of a scoop from Bells’ cone hitting the table.

  * * *

  CAPTAIN ORION SENT TO CORRECTIONS FOR ILLEGAL HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION.

  SMASHER AND SHOCKWAVE AWARDED HONORS BY MAYOR OF ANDOVER.

  THE COLLECTIVE IS SAFE AT LAST.

  The headlines over the next few days paint a compelling narrative—very little of it true. The pieces of the video that have surfaced on the Net are all edited to show Orion as the sole perpetrator of the “human experiments” and conspiring with Chameleon to destroy the evidence at the base. Then, apparently Smasher and Shockwave apprehended Orion, and Chameleon escaped to pursue his unfathomable plans with the United Villain’s Guild.

  According to the Trans, the League put Smasher and Shockwave on official “vacation,” having assumed that they were involved with the confrontation with Orion.

  “It’s a good thing,” Li Hua says to the anxious teenagers in her living room. “It means they don’t know about your involvement, Jessica, and they don’t know we’re aware of their corruption. They’re just covering their tracks.”

  “But—! You could go live with the story!” Jess protests.

  Emma nods. “Yeah, you could call Lysander right now and schedule your own interview! Tell the truth about what really happened.”

  Bells ticks off multiple truths on his fingers. “There were so-called villains who went missing, and it’s all deliberate, the hero-villain battles, everything…”

  While the three of them argue with Jess’ parents, Abby sits with arms folded and a defeated expression on her face.

  “What about Claudia?” Jess asks.

  Her parents’ expressions darken, and they sigh. “We can’t assume anything. We don’t know if she’s working with the League or with Orion,” Li Hua says.

  “She must have done something to influence that cover-up story,” Victor adds, frowning.

  Abby finally speaks up. “The League has absolute control over what the press says and does. I don’t see how we can change that story unless we can get our broadcast out, and without…” Her voice falters. “I mean, we’ve been trying, but they have all the power, and we can’t do anything. I should have known it was dumb to try.”

  “This is about keeping you safe,” Victor says. “This is about keeping all of you safe. I know you kids want very much to just stop the League right now, but it’s not that simple. You know what happens if we make a stand right now? They throw us all in Corrections. Right now, the Tran family is not a threat to them. They still think we’re on their side. And Abby, your parents have kept you under the radar your whole life.”

  “Do you understand? No one is looking for you. They’ve tied up all their loose ends—except for Chameleon,” Li Hua says. “And you’ve already taken care of that with your careful double-identity. Just don’t wear that supersuit again and you’ll be fine.”

  It’s early, not even dawn on Saturday. Though the alarm is off and it’s the start of winter break, Bells is wide awake. He hasn’t slept all night; he’s been turning over the news in his head. Looking for more info, he set an alert on his DED, and at four forty-five a.m. it chirps with a broadcast from the East Coast. Starscream, who has been featured in human interest pieces because of his on-and-off relationship with Captain Orion, is nodding sagely at Wilton Lysander. “It is alarming how Orion has infringed upon human rights by experimenting on people in order to achieve her prolonged power use.” He sniffs and wipes away a tear. “She fooled me. She fooled us all.”

  “Absolutely shocking,” Lysander says, shaking his head. “The League of Heroes has publicly denounced Orion and severed all ties with her. Up next: We interview three heroes from the League about their sinister suspicions of Cindy Oliphaous…”

  Bells replays the report, looks for something, any clue, then scowls and drops the link into the group chat. He isn’t expecting a reply, but it immediately pings with a response.

  Jess: well at least… ugh, hang on, this is annoying

  [User Abby has joined the chat.]

  Jess: oh i added abby since it was easier than messaging all of you at the same time, hope that’s ok

  Bells: OF COURSE HI ABBY

  Bells: EMMA DID WANT TO DO AN INITIATION BEFORE SHE JOINED THOUGH

  Abby: Initiation?

  Bells: IT’S A THING

  Bells: DON’T WORRY EMMA CAN TELL YOU ABOUT IT WHEN SHE’S AWAKE

  Jess: ok yeah i was saying it’s something, right? at least the league is acknowledging that what orion did was wrong

  Bells: BUT SHE SAID IT WAS ON THEIR ORDERS

  Abby: They’re not taking responsibility. They’re using Orion as the scapegoat

  Emma: !!! go!! back!!! to !!! sleep!! muting ALL of you

  Emma: yes, there’s an initiation

  [User b-mastermind has joined the chat.]

  Emma: who is this!??!!? who invited them?

  Abby: Not me

  Bells: NO IDEA. WHO ARE YOU B

  Emma: how did you even get in here without the access code

  Jess: uh, i think… gimme a sec…

  b-mastermind: This Is Not A Secure Channel.

  [Group chat “Stop changing the name of the chat” has been deleted by b-mastermind.]

  [User Jess is inviting you to “New Group Chat.”]

  [Users Abby and Emma have joined the chat.]

  Jess: sorry guys brendan is being annoying

  Jess: he says he has a plan??? to find the

  Emma: really? that would involve leaving his bedroom though

  Bells: BAHAHA

  Abby: Find the what

  Jess: the re—

  [Group chat “New Group Chat” has been deleted by b-mastermind.]

  Bells raises his eyebrows and turns off all projections on his DED. Outside his window, the first slivers of light peek over the horizon. On a whim, he puts on his running shoes; he hasn’t had a regular exercise regime since training.

  Getting back in shape will probably come in handy.

  His breath makes a cloud around his head. He gets into a rhythm; his body wakes up as he trots around his neighborhood and toward the edge of town and the desert beyond, just a vast expanse of parched land stretching toward the horizon. A single highway cuts through the canyons.

  The Unmaintained zones used to terrify him, but he knows better now. How many areas are actually still dangerous from radiation, and how many are falsely claimed to be still radioactive by the Collective?

  His shoes crunch on the gravel, and he pauses to catch his breath. Despite the cold morning air, his skin is hot. The sun is gleaming, stretching up into the sky, and the world slowly changes: cool, blue shadows turn softly to gentle, easy warmth. Light touches the solar fields just outside Andover. The city starts to hustle. Cars zip about; lights turn on and off.

  The knot of anxiety about Orion and the League uncoils as Bells falls into a steady rhythm. His feet hit the ground; the air brushes past him. Inhale. Exhale.

  Bells runs past a billboard with Barry’s face on it. WANTED, the sign reads. He’s public enemy number one now. It’s surreal to think about how the League treated him when he was the golden boy, and now he’s the scapegoat.

  Running past the billboard sets off a motion-sensor
datachip, and Bells’ DED plays a recorded message, projecting a small hologram of Lowell Kingston. It flickers and bounces as he runs, and Bells tries to turn it off, but it’s on an automatic play loop and has to finish.

  “Hello, I’m Lowell Kingston, the President of the Central Regions of the North American Collective.” Solemn and official, he points at the camera. “The Council would like to assure the citizens of the North American Collective that Cindy Oliphaous—also known as Captain Orion—has been apprehended. She is standing trial for illegal meta-human experimentation and violating human rights. The Heroes’ League of Heroes has also issued a statement that Chameleon, formerly of the League, was seen with Orion at a League facility, and the two were responsible for its destruction. While Oliphaous has been sent to Corrections, we would like to remind you that Chameleon is still at large and very dangerous.”

  Bells trips over his own feet, which sends him sprawling into the dirt. Right, because I'm so dangerous.

  The message disappears, and Bells continues on his run. He’s heading toward Emma’s neighborhood when his DED vibrates with an oncoming call from an unknown citizen ID number. Bells can hazard a guess who it is, though.

  He clicks accept and watches the pixels form into a round face with floppy hair. “Hey, Brendan,” Bells says. Jess’ little genius brother is what, fourteen now?

  “This message will self-destruct after it is completed—why are you running, Bells?”

  “Just starting to get back in the habit,” Bells says. “Why’d you delete our group chat? Twice?”

  “What part of not secure do you imbeciles not understand? Inter-communications, especially text, are easily compromised. We’re going to meet at a location to be disclosed at oh-nine-hundred hours to discuss the next steps. B—out!”

  Bells shakes his head, but he can’t help the grin that’s starting to pull at his lips. Any plans are better than worrying about what’s coming next.