by Drew Hayes
Getting to Gale had been relatively painless. Dispatch’s guesses were largely correct and Titan only had to punch carefully through one wall in order to keep him and Deadlift on the right path. Once they arrived, however, both strongmen immediately realized just how out of their depth they really were.
The contraption before them was massive, so tall it went halfway up the twenty-foot wall of this odd cavern, a mishmash of various electronics, lights, and devices that seemed to come from a half-dozen different technological periods. In the center was a modest-sized terminal with a dark screen directly adjacent to a large metal sphere with wires running all over the rest of the setup. It was the most striking point of the area in the first place, even without the corpse sitting in the chair.
“This is just a guess, mind you, but I’m going to say he’s been dead for at least months, probably years,” Aether announced. While Jeremiah was combing the wall of electronics, asking questions and getting unheard replies from the rest of his team, Aether had taken it upon herself to inspect the corpse hunched over in the chair. No one asked why she felt familiar enough with decomposing remains to inspect them, though most just chose to assume she had some medical background and leave it at that.
“No immediate wounds that I can see, which points toward natural causes, an internal attack like poison, or another Super. This place doesn’t have any signs of a struggle, but with how much work has been done, that doesn’t tell us anything for sure. We’ll need an autopsy to get solid information, but based on pure speculation, my guess would be that this guy sat down to do some work and then fell over dead midway through. Could be the ticker, or the noggin, or any other number of things, but something gave out on him.”
“You can tell that’s a guy?” Deadlift asked; the parts of his face that were visible under his mask had paled noticeably as Aether looked over the corpse.
“Geez, it’s like none of you bothered to take a biology class. Yeah, I can tell it’s a guy. You want me to go into how?” Aether replied.
Deadlift shook his head adamantly to the negative. Aether didn’t push the issue, which Titan appreciated. There was already so little of his costume left, the last thing he wanted was to get the remainder sprayed with vomit if Deadlift lost his stomach.
Fortunately, the line of discussion quickly fell through as Jeremiah clapped his hands from over by the console.
“All right, people, based on what my team can tell me through the comms, though we absolutely need to have a tech-Super come check this out, all accounts point to us having found the heart of the operation. This is the thing that’s sending the signals, and most likely remotely handling all the mining and robot construction.”
“Then let’s tear it apart.” Gale summoned the beginnings of a tornado so quickly that the end of her sentence was muffled.
Jeremiah repositioned himself quickly between the terminal and Gale, a move Titan would have deemed brave if he didn’t know Jeremiah could heal from whatever wounds she inflicted.
“Yes, yes we could do that. Or we could just work on disconnecting it from all the remote operations until someone with tech-based abilities can come study it,” Jeremiah suggested. “As horrible as the robot attacks were, this still represents a marvel of technology. Look at the things it’s been creating, adapting, and improving, all without human interference. Hell, not half an hour ago it made a talking robot designed specifically to neutralize Titan, just based on the battles we had today. That is some astounding work, even more so now that we know there was no human behind the wheel.”
“All the better reason to destroy it now before it builds a threat we can’t handle.” Gale hadn’t dismissed her wind, a fact that escaped none of their attention. “Smart or not, this thing has been trying to wipe out us, and Brewster as a whole, for months.”
Titan was moving before he’d even realized it, Gale’s words stirring the memory of Hexcellent’s theory. The truth of the matter was, he agreed with Gale. Maybe this thing was a technological marvel unlike anything the world had ever seen, but it was also dangerous. He’d been forced to bring down fellow humans who’d managed far less damage; a machine didn’t get a pass for the carnage in its wake. Unless. . . it didn’t know any better.
Before anyone could object, which they certainly would have, Titan moved the corpse away from the terminal, leaned over the ergonomic keyboard, and punched the space bar. For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the dark screen began to flicker to life. At first, Titan didn’t know what he was looking at; he’d never had much interest in the digital realm. Bit by bit, though, he puzzled together what he was seeing, and as it all clicked he shook his head in disbelief.
“I’ll be damned. Hexcellent was right.” Looking over his shoulder, he motioned for the others to come see the screen for themselves. “It’s a game. A timed strategy or whatever. The map looks like Brewster, too. I think our dead programmer was playing it when he died, maybe trying to train the computer to do exactly what it did. Probably part one in a nefarious scheme where the rest was never hatched.”
The rest of the group approached, taking in the display for themselves. It was all there, measured in bars and numbers that meant nothing to Titan. But some things were unmistakable: the map of Brewster, the six locations where the mechs had been deployed, even the little dots tracking the remaining Heroes that were helping secure damaged areas.
“Weird as this is, and I am definitely not saying it isn’t strange, I don’t see how it changes things,” Gale told them. “This computer is still bent on wiping out our town. I say we carve it up now before it has a chance.”
“Gale, with all respect, do you have any idea what we’re looking at here?” Jeremiah asked. “This thing created its own troops, researched classified technology and stole it to improve them, adapted its designs and strategies based on how we reacted. . . it learned. I’m not the guy to say if something is or isn’t artificial intelligence, but this has got to be the closest we’ve ever come as a species to creating it. You’re talking about destroying one of the most incredible scientific achievements in history because some asshole left his game running.”
“We’ve seen what it can do on accident. You really want to give someone the chance to use this thing on purpose?” Gale countered. “It’s too strong, too dangerous. We have to destroy it now.”
“You know, that’s what a lot of humans said about Supers when they first learned about us.” Aether’s voice was quiet, yet strong enough to carry through the whole cavern. “Something having the potential to be dangerous isn’t a good reason to kill it.”
“It’s not alive,” Gale shot back.
“Are you sure? I mean, really sure? I heard the robot Titan fought, and it sounded pretty aware of what was going on. Misinformed, yes, but aware,” Deadlift told her. “I’m not saying you’re wrong. In fact, I’m on your side, Gale. This thing nearly murdered me and my team with its robots, and it wrecked my town. It deserves to be killed. I’m just making sure we all acknowledge that that’s what we’re talking about. Killing.”
“Machines aren’t alive.” Gale didn’t sound as sure as she had moments prior, but she still refused to back down from her point.
“Two in favor of wrecking it here and now, two against,” Jeremiah summarized. “Titan, it looks like you’re the deciding vote.”
Slowly, Titan walked from the terminal over to the dense metal sphere. Even if he knew almost nothing about high-tech electronics, he’d set up enough lights and media centers in his day to understand that the device all the wires ran to was the most important part. It was the heart, or maybe the brain. Regardless, he was pretty sure that if he smashed it to pieces, that would be the end of their problems. Titan raised his hand over the device, only a few inches from the dark polished surface. It wouldn’t take much, one good blow and it would all be over.
“I think,” Titan said, slowly lowering his arm until his fingers rested against the smooth metal. “That everyone deserves a second
chance. Potential artificial life included.”
Epilogue
The restoration of Brewster would not be a quick process. Though the Heroes had performed admirably, containing the robotic threats and responding to unexpected challenges with speed and efficiency, the fact still remained that entire city blocks were rendered unlivable amidst the destruction. Within days, the DVA had set up temporary housing areas for those thrust from their homes. In a week, they’d brokered a deal between insurance companies and local hotels to get those impacted somewhere more stable. The first time a city was partially destroyed was a complete clusterfuck as everyone ran around, trying to figure out what to do. Nowadays, however, the DVA had the process down pat.
Not that their sole concern was taking care of the humans impacted by the disaster. One by one, every Hero in a command position at the scene was brought in for debriefing. While things could have been worse, it didn’t change the fact that people had still died and millions of dollars in property damage had occurred. That was the sort of aftermath the DVA couldn’t afford to shrug off and accept, meaning they went through the scenario with a fine-toothed comb, making certain that no Hero had acted rashly or used excessive force that might have exacerbated an already bad situation.
For his part, Owen’s interview was mercifully brief. Though he had brought in a Temporarily Authorized Hero Asset and destroyed a mech with only one other Hero as backup, he’d also been careful to run things through Dispatch every chance he had. No one knew better than he that what the DVA wanted the most out of this was a scapegoat, someone or thing to point to as having failed. Their other option was telling the public that even with every Hero doing their job well, incidents like this could still happen. Although it was true, that wasn’t the sort of truth that made for a happy populace. They needed their Heroes to be flawless, or to have the imperfect ones cast aside. But the DVA would have to search elsewhere for its sacrificial Super. Titan had played things careful and by the book, which Dispatch would back him up on.
Lenny was waiting for him as Owen left the meeting and immediately yanked off the blue tie that was too small for his thick, muscular neck. It looked all the more ridiculous atop his Titan costume, and Owen was glad to be rid of the idiotic formality. The short agent fell into line next to him as they walked over the polished stone floor of Brewster City Hall. The DVA had set up temporary offices during the research and recovery efforts, partially to be seen around town doing their duty, and partially because it wasn’t cost-effective to fly or teleport every Hero they wanted to interview off to D.C.
Neither said a word until they were clear of the building, at which point Lenny lifted his bushy eyebrows upward and cast a scrutinizing glance at his client.
“Well?”
“I’m clear,” Owen replied, what should have been cheer in his voice soured by the experience of telling his tale while a panel sifted through every detail, searching for fault. “Unless they find something way out of left field that I’m not even aware of, nothing will blow back on me.”
“That is quite the relief.” Lenny dug about in his pockets until he found a pair of sunglasses that were comfortable, if not terribly up-to-date with the newest fashions. Overhead, the afternoon Brewster sun beat down on them, warming the prominent bald spot on Lenny’s exposed head. “Let me tell you, with all the orders we’ve got coming in for Titan merchandise, the last thing I needed is you to be under investigation.”
“I can’t imagine that much is really moving,” Owen said.
“Are you kidding me? Between the classic Titan gear, the new stylized versions, and that little photo of you going on everything from shirts to mugs, we’ve got suppliers dealing with serious backorders, and that’s after I told them to stock up.”
Owen suppressed a groan at Lenny’s mention of the picture, but only barely. Evidently, amidst the brave reporters who’d ventured near the chaos of the battle was one especially intrepid photographer. That young woman was likely now a superstar at her paper, as she’d captured dozens of incredible images of the action in progress. One had especially caught on with the public, though. It was a picture of Titan as he’d lifted the mech overhead to save Hexcellent, though neither she nor Hopcules were easily visible in the shot. Instead, it just looked like he was hauling the thing up from the ground because he could, and while he wasn’t especially fond of the attention the picture was garnering, he did have to admit it was a pretty incredible image. If nothing else, the world seemed to have suddenly remembered that on top of every scandal and rumor surrounding him, Titan was one thing above all else: powerful.
“At least that will give me some spare cash while I get things up and running. Any word yet on Hexcellent’s negotiations?” Owen asked.
Lenny nodded, yanking out the keys to his car and pressing a button to unlock the doors. “Word came down while you were inside. She’s going to have to buy out Mordent’s contract with her for the name and advertising rights to the Hexcellent brand and her original summons.”
“Those mother fuckers.” Owen spat the words, although he’d known going in that she was facing a tough battle.
“Hey, let me finish, all right?” Lenny and Owen both slipped into Lenny’s car. The passenger seat was already moved all the way back to somewhat accommodate Owen’s mighty frame. “She has to buy out the contract on all that, but the good news is she should have plenty of cash to do it with. Mordent only locked down the summons she had when she signed on, since no one expected her to be pulling out any new ones. They tried to pull some crap about Hopcules being preexisting, but in this case the contract fucked ‘em, since it outlined exactly what summons she had and their characteristics. Probably thought they were being slick by pinning her property down. Anyway, I tore that to shreds, and the arbiter agreed. Hexcellent has complete ownership of the Hopcules property and merchandising rights associated with it. Which, let me tell you, just from pre-orders looks like it will be more than enough to handle the Mordent contract.”
“Good.” Owen watched as Brewster City Hall faded into the distance and they began their trek to the next destination. “And I know I’ve said it before, but thanks for handling that.”
“Consider it a personal pleasure,” Lenny replied. “That Greene prick was fun to beat. Plus, it seems like I built up a little goodwill in the PEERS community. Already had three of the bigger names approach me about representation after they heard I’d taken on Bubble Bubble as a client.”
“The legendary Lenny, working with someone other than Heroes? Turn the car around, we need to go find some reporters and alert them to the news,” Owen said.
“There is always room at my table for anyone who earns,” Lenny replied, not a trace of shame in his voice. “So, where can I drop you?”
“Mordent Holdings’ central office,” Owen replied. “While I was in there, I got some news of my own, and I shouldn’t wait to share it with my team.”
* * *
“Well well well, look who it is: the conquering Hero, come to pay us little people a visit?”
Despite the seemingly harsh words, Hexcellent barreled through the room and wrapped Owen in a giant hug as he entered the penthouse. In the chaos and fallout of the last week, he and the PEERS team had barely gotten to see one another. Except, of course, for when he stopped by to make the big announcement. They’d taken it well, all things considered. Deep down, he had a feeling they knew as much as he did that it was inevitable.
“I’ll have to speak to Greene about updating security. We can’t have any Tom, Dick, and Harry just wandering in here when they please.” Topsy hauled himself up from a chair in the kitchen and walked over, giving Owen’s hand a good shake. “It’s only been three days; did you need to check up on me already?”
“Maybe I came by to see if you needed advice,” Owen replied. “Hero Liaison isn’t the world’s easiest job.”
“Oh, I’m aware of that. We’ve been working nonstop with cleanup and rescue efforts. It’s enough to have an ol
d Hero feel like he’s making a difference again.” Topsy released his grip as Galvanize, Zone, and Bubble Bubble all made their way over to greet and talk with their former Hero Liaison. There was no ill-will in the separation; they’d understood that he needed to be in a place where he could do the most with his abilities. Plus, Owen had left them in the most capable hands he knew of.
“What brings you by?” Galvanize asked, getting to the root of the visit as only a team leader could. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to see you, but I assumed you’d be crazy busy getting everything up and running.”
“You’re not wrong,” Owen agreed. “But in the rush of handing things over to Topsy, there were a few items I left unfinished. Can’t very well go starting a new chapter in my life without wrapping up the old, now can I?”
“Uh oh, is this where you demand a match against all of us to see how much we’ve grown or something?” Bubble Bubble asked.
“No,” Owen replied. “This is where I give you each a proper goodbye. And I think you’re the best one to start with.” Owen scooped the pale, copper-haired woman up in a big bear hug, eliciting a squeal of surprised joy from the once-always-stoic Super. “I’m going to miss you, kid. Don’t go back into that shell of yours ’cause I’m not on the team anymore, either. I’ll be just down the road, and I can stop by anytime I want if needed. Also, try and keep away from dating directors.”
“See, now where was that advice when I needed it?” Bubble Bubble asked, still grinning as Owen set her on the floor. Her expression grew confused as he produced a white card from his pocket and held it out to her, however. “What’s this?”
“Parting gift, albeit a joint one. Lenny and I pulled some strings to set you up with a new image consultant. Given the ground work you laid during the director fiasco, and the eyes on the team after the attack, we thought it was time get you set up with someone who could help you sell the real you, not just whatever image some brand was pitching. Ludwig is among the best in the business.”