by Lucas Flint
I was thinking about how I was going to spend Christmas break when I heard something flying in the sky. I looked up to see a robot flying toward me. I was immediately reminded of Master Chaos's old Chaos bots, so I threw the metal block aside to get ready to fly into the air to fight it.
But as the robot drew closer, I realized that it wasn't actually a robot at all. It was actually a man in a powered armor suit, who was flying toward me on his rocket boots.
I stayed where I was, watching as the armored man slowly landed on the ground. He wore armor that looked like futuristic knight armor and even carried a sword at his side. The armor covered his entire body, including his eyes and face, so I had no idea what he looked like underneath, though he didn't seem like a threat.
The armored man looked at me, his green eyes glowing dully in their sockets. “Hello. Are you Bolt?”
The armored man spoke with a metallic, somewhat monotone voice. It made him sound like a robot, although it was probably due to a voice filter in his helmet or something.
“Yes,” I said. I looked around, but did not see anyone else around, so I doubted this was a set up for an ambush. “Who are you?”
“I am Mecha Knight,” said the armored man. “Perhaps you have heard of me.”
“Mecha Knight?” I said in surprise. “You mean one of the leaders of the Neohero Alliance? That Mecha Knight?”
Mecha Knight nodded. “Affirmative. I worked along with your father, Genius, before he retired. A good man. He helped me refine my power suit's weapons and fighting capabilities in ways that would never have occurred to me.”
“How did you find me and what are you doing here?” I said. I immediately started patting my body. “Wait, did someone put a tracker on me or something?”
“No,” said Mecha Knight. “Your father told me where to find you.”
“Oh,” I said as I stopped patting myself. “Wait, why did Dad tell you where to find me? I told him that I wanted to be alone right now.”
“Because I have an offer to make to you,” said Mecha Knight. “Or rather, the Neohero Alliance has an offer to make, an offer we think you will agree to.”
“An offer?” I said. “You mean like money?”
“No,” said Mecha Knight flatly. “A different kind of offer that has nothing whatsoever to do with money, though we think it will appeal to you nonetheless.”
I frowned at the thought that I wouldn't get any money, but because it wasn't every day that one of the leaders of the NHA came to you with an offer, I said, “All right. I'm listening.”
“Good,” said Mecha Knight. “As you might know, the Young Neos have been disbanded and its members—Incantation, Hopper, Ghost, Technical, and Sarah Jane Watson—have gone into hiding with Thaumaturge, thanks in no small part to your help.”
I shrugged. “What can I say? I'm good at busting superhero conspiracies.”
Mecha Knight didn't seem to notice what I said, because he continued, saying, “Also, we are currently reevaluating the curriculum being used to teach at the Academy. Already we have discovered lessons that promote a Visionist worldview. It is distressing to find out how thoroughly the Visionists managed to embed themselves in our organization, to say the least.”
“Have you discovered any other Visionists in the NHA?” I said.
“So far, Thaumaturge is the only one we know of, but the investigation is still ongoing,” said Mecha Knight. “It is sad that Thaumaturge was corrupted. I knew him well. He was a great hero in his own right. I wish I knew how that had happened, but I suppose what matters now is apprehending him and throwing him in prison, where he belongs.”
Although Mecha Knight spoke in a monotone, I could still hear some sadness in his voice. I knew that Thaumaturge and Mecha Knight were early members of the NHA, so they had probably been close friends. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be betrayed by a close friend like that.
“Well, I hope you guys catch him,” I said. “If you ever need any help, just call me up anytime.”
“We won't need to call you if you accept my offer,” said Mecha Knight.
“Why not?” I said. I gasped. “Oh, are you going to offer me a position on the NHA? Like, as an actual, full member?”
“No,” said Mecha Knight, shaking his head. “You're too young to be a full member yet. We only accept neoheroes who are eighteen years or older. I have been informed by your father that you are seventeen, which puts you just under the age requirement.”
My shoulders slumped. “Damn it. So what's your offer, then?”
“We'd like to offer you a position as the new leader of the Young Neos,” said Mecha Knight. “Now that Incantation is gone, the position is open and needs to be filled.”
“What?” I said. “Me, the leader of the Young Neos? But I thought that the team was disbanded.”
“It is, but only temporarily,” said Mecha Knight. “We are currently in the process of putting together a new version of the team, this one free of Visionist influence. We think you would make a great leader, if you choose to accept our offer.”
I scratched the back of my head. “Wow. That's a very generous offer, but, uh, why me? Don't you have some other young heroes in the Academy who would be more qualified to lead the team than me?”
“We have many good, talented, and skilled students in the Academy, including my nephew, that is true,” said Mecha Knight. “But the fact is that nearly every member of the last Young Neos came from the Academy, and yet all of them turned out to be disciples of Visionary. Seeing as we are trying to eliminate Visionist influence in our organization, we thought it would be best to recruit young neoheroes from outside the Academy, who are far less likely to have been influenced by Visionist dogma than our own students, sadly enough.”
“I understand,” I said. “But why should I be the leader? I mean, I'm not doubting my own leadership abilities or whatever, but are you sure there isn't someone better than me out there?”
“We are sure,” said Mecha Knight. “You see, Bolt, you have more experience than most heroes your age. You fought Master Chaos and Visionary and came out on top, which is something that most superhumans your age have never done. That kind of experience is invaluable.”
“I had help,” I said. “I—”
“Even with help, those are still impressive accomplishments for a hero your age just the same,” said Mecha Knight. “Therefore, we think that you are the perfect candidate to lead the new Young Neos.”
I couldn't argue with that logic, but I had to say, “But my parents don't want me to fight crime. They just want me to be an ordinary teenager until I graduate from high school.”
“I spoke with Genius and your mother about this before I came here,” said Mecha Knight. “They have agreed to let you lead a new team of Young Neos once it is formed.”
“Once it is formed?” I said. “It isn't formed yet?”
“Not yet,” said Mecha Knight. “We're in the process of selecting new members from outside the Academy. We have several candidates already, but we aren't going to tell you who they are just yet and won't until the team is formed.”
“Okay,” I said. “But did my parents really agree to let me lead the team? That doesn't seem like them.”
“Your parents weren't very pleased or enthusiastic about it, I think,” said Mecha Knight. “But they seem to think you will be a neohero no matter what and it would be fruitless for them to try to stop that. It helps, I think, that Genius will be speaking with you every day.”
As skeptical as I was, I realized that Mecha Knight was telling the truth. My parents may not have approved of my superheroics, but I guess they had accepted that I was growing up and would soon be on my own and that they couldn't control me anymore. Maybe they saw it as the next step in my growth as a superhero or maybe Dad thought that the NHA could teach me things that he couldn't. Regardless, I had to admit that I liked this change in attitude, if only because it meant I would get to become the superhero I wanted.
“So, what do you say?” said Mecha Knight. “If you are worrying about education, we will be able to provide you with tutors in every subject imaginable. Will you accept the offer or not?”
I looked down at my hands. A part of me wanted desperately to accept this offer, because I knew that if I turned it down, I'd probably never receive it again. A part of me that sounded an awful lot like Dad, however, was asking me if this was what I really wanted. I thought about Malcolm and my parents, who would still be here in Texas while I was up there in New York, but I told myself I'd come down to visit them as often as I could, so that wouldn't be a big issue.
So I looked up at Mecha Knight again and said, “All right. I accept your offer. When will I start?”
“As soon as we assemble the rest of the team,” said Mecha Knight. “By my estimates, that should be sometime just before the New Year, so expect to receive a call from us at that time to come to Hero Island to meet your new teammates.”
“You mean I can't just go now?” I said in disappointment.
“The situation on Hero Island … isn't exactly safe for you at the moment,” said Mecha Knight vaguely. “It would be best if you stayed here in Texas until we call you.”
I understood what he was saying. I had a feeling that a lot of people in the NHA weren't exactly happy about how Triplet and I exposed Vision and its goals to the public. Nor were they happy that Sagan was a vegetable. It seemed like most of the NHA's leaders and members were grateful for what we did, but if there were even just a few Visionists yet to be exposed in the leadership or membership, then I probably had more than a few enemies there who would be happy to see me dead.
“All right,” I said. “So you will call me around New Year, right?”
“Yes,” said Mecha Knight, nodding. “Until then, I suggest that you keep training and getting better, because you will need to be prepared for the challenges that await you as the leader of the Young Neos.”
With that, Mecha Knight activated the rockets in his boot and flew into the sky again. I watched him go until he was out of sight, leaving me all alone again in the clearing.
Then I returned to lifting the metal block, but this time, with a smile on my face. I wondered who my future teammates would be and what kind of threats we'd face as a team. All I knew for sure was that I going to keep training, keep practicing, and keep preparing for the day when Mecha Knight called me to Hero Island to meet my new teammates, whoever they may be.
Chapter Nineteen
Cadmus Smith—Director of the Department of Superpowered Human and Extraterrestrial Beings and leader of the G-Men—sat in his office at the Department's headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was reading a report from Mr. Apollo, one of his agents, who had recently completed an intelligence operation on a terrorist group in the Middle East led by an infamous supervillain who apparently believed that his powers were a gift from Allah. It was dry and boring, but Cadmus preferred reports that way. He had little patience for agents who tried to add rhetorical flourishes to their reports and Mr. Apollo was one of the few agents who agreed with him on that, which was why he always liked Apollo's reports better than the reports that other agents sent him.
But despite enjoying Apollo's impassively written report, Cadmus found his mind wandering. He was thinking about the entire Vision debacle. The President had chided Cadmus for not knowing about Sagan's true nature sooner, because Cadmus was himself a telepath and had read the minds of each candidate prior to the start of the election season in order to make sure none of them were supervillains in disguise.
That Sagan had somehow managed to trick Cadmus into not even noticing his powers was embarrassing, to say the least. Cadmus had even heard rumors that Plutarch was planning to dismiss him as Director and replace him with someone more 'competent,' but Cadmus knew Plutarch wouldn't. If there was something that Plutarch valued, it was efficiency, and Cadmus was always efficient, Sagan notwithstanding.
Then Cadmus felt another mind enter his office. He looked up at the dark corner of his office just in time to see Shade step out of it. She immediately saluted Cadmus when she saw him.
“Sir,” said Shade. “I am back from spying on Bolt.”
Cadmus frowned before returning his attention to Apollo's report. “Shade, you know I told you to send your updates to me as written reports on a weekly basis, not verbally in person. Your last report was yesterday.”
“I know, sir, but I thought this was far too urgent and sensitive news to put into writing, where it could possibly be intercepted by spies or enemies of the G-Men,” said Shade. “I just witnessed a conversation between Bolt and Mecha Knight, one of the leaders of the Neohero Alliance.”
Cadmus immediately looked up from the report. “Mecha Knight? Are you sure?”
“Absolutely, sir,” said Shade, nodding. “I've seen him before. There was no mistaking that mechanical knight armor for anything else.”
“What did they talk about?” said Cadmus, lowering the report.
“From what I heard, the NHA is assembling a new version of the Young Neos and they asked Bolt to be the leader,” said Shade. “Bolt accepted the offer and will be joining the team sometime around the New Year, which is when the team will be assembled and Bolt will be allowed to come to Hero Island.”
“Interesting,” said Cadmus. “Why would they—ah, I see.”
“See, sir?” said Shade.
“It's nothing,” said Cadmus. “Is that all, Shade?”
“Yes, sir,” said Shade. “That's all I heard.”
“I see,” said Cadmus. He gestured at the dark corner behind her. “Leave and return to spying on Bolt. Keep me updated on this situation as it develops and leave no detail out of your reports, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you.”
“Yes, sir,” said Shade, though Cadmus heard puzzled thoughts in her head. She clearly didn't understand why Cadmus found this development significant, but she also knew better than to ask him about it, because it was not information she needed to know.
With that, Shade stepped backwards into the darkness and Cadmus felt her mind leave his office. That was how he knew he was alone.
Steepling his fingers together, Cadmus looked at one of the pictures on his desk. It was an old black-and-white photo, showing a young, smiling boy standing next to a tall man in a nice-looking suit. There was another man in the picture, too, a teenager who wasn't related to either the young body or the grown man, who looked far more rebellious than the boy or the man. In the corner of the framed photo was a scrawl that read Cadmus, Michael, and Jack, New York City 1933.
“Jack, Jack, Jack,” said Cadmus in a low voice. He chuckled. “For the first time in eighty years, you have finally taken me by surprise. Congratulations.”
The photo, of course, did not answer. Cadmus just shook his head and returned to reading the report, but now he was thinking about what Shade had just reported and its implications for the future.
The game, it seemed, had changed … and for the first time in decades, Cadmus was not sure if he was prepared to handle it.
-
BOLT WILL RETURN IN The Superhero's Rival, COMING JULY 2016.
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About the Author
Lucas Flint is the pen name that Timothy L. Cerepaka wr
ites superhero novels under. You can find out more by visiting his website here.