by Riley Tune
The hologram standing in her room flickered some, and then casually responded. “Yes, young lord. It appears that master Flex is fighting the entire team at once. As of now, it is three against one, and he is having a time at it. Master Hunter is proving to be quite the obstacle.” She nodded her head, and then looked back down to her multibox, and touched it with the end of her tool.
An impressive spark jumped from the box, causing her to drop everything and shake her hand. “Nerf,” she said as she stood from the table and placed a finger in her mouth. Prism didn’t react this time, but the first time he heard this swear from her world he, and the rest of the team, were confused, to say the least.
“Shall I alert the others?” Prism asked. Perkins shook her head. “No. Let them do whatever they are doing training- wise.” She said as she ruffled through her drawers. Each drawer she opened she tossed the contents inside out on the floor and finally found a large pair of thick gloves.
“Now we’re talking, she said as she slid one of the large gloves on her hand and crossed the room. Only a few minutes had passed before another spark came, and this one was so intense that it knocked her out of her chair and down onto the floor.
Prism looked down at her. Perkins slowly stood up and adjusted her goggles. “Not going to ask me if I’m okay?” Perkins said. “If you were okay, which you seem to be, then there was no need to ask.”
Perkins spun around in her chair. “And if I wasn’t okay?” “Well then, young lord, there wasn’t much a hologram could do, now was it.” Perkins nodded. “Valid point.”
Over the next few minutes, Perkins had easily disassembled several remote controls, a keyboard, and the single serve coffee machine from Power Prince’s room that he used when he binge watched his shows late into the night. In the place of said coffee machine, she left a note with the words see Perkins scribbled across it.
When this was all over, she had made a mental note to replace the machine with the latest model. For now, she needed the parts. That wasn’t exactly true. She didn’t know which parts she needed. She had ideas and theories, but for the most part, it was just her taking random shots in the dark. So, when something actually happened with the multibox, she found it as a surprise.
Perkins was pissed and was ready to call it quits when a light flashed on the small box and static came through. The static filled the room for a while and then, to her surprise, a series of words followed. Perkins turned to Prism.
“You heard that, right? The stress isn’t making me crazy?” “Quite the contrary, young lord. An inaudible noise is radiating from that box.” Prism said as he looked at the box on the desk in front of him.
Perkins exhaled several breaths and slowly picked up her instrument. Her hand was shaking as she tried to adjust some of the wires in hopes of clearing up the message. Her next move turned the semi-audible series of words and static into pure static. Prism made a sound of one that was clearing their throat. “I know. I know. I’ll get it.” Perkins grunted as her eyes narrowed.
If she wasn’t anything else, she was determined. Now that she had heard something, Perkins was practically a detective on a hot case and refused to give it up. She turned her tool slowly in a counter direction, and as the moments of silence and desperation passed, the static faded some, and for a second, she heard a word. A single word came from a familiar voice, and it was enough to make Perkin’s stiffen, as her fears were confirmed and her mind began to race.
When she realized that the message was on a loop, she knew she must fix the multibox as soon as possible. Prism noticed the change in her posture. “Does that word hold meaning to you, young lord?” Prism asked. Perkins slowly nodded her head as she adjusted herself in her desk to work.
The loop replayed over again, as the word came through, just clear enough to hear over the static. “I see,” Prism said. “So exactly what, or who is this?” Prism paused as the loop played again and waited for the only word they could make out. “This Omega?” Perkins closed her eyes and, even though Prism didn’t see it, clenched her fist for a second. “Pray to Atlas you don’t have to ever find out,” Perkins said as she continued working.
CHAPTER 3:
LIES WITH GOOD INTENTIONS
A side from its occupant's heavy breathing, the training room was oddly quiet now. The loud grunts, bangs, screams, and sound of powers being used had faded away. “You know what?” Hunter said to the room between breaths.
Nobody answered, but he took their silence as a sign that they were listening to him anyway. “Voids don’t have this much fun when they train,” he said as he continued to rest on the cool floor with his arms stretched out. “You did it again,” Danielle said as she kicked Hunter’s foot with her own.
She would have likely slapped him or even punched his shoulder had she been standing up and near him. Instead she too, just like Flex and Power Prince, remained sprawled on the floor of the training facility, drenched in sweat. Three hours of super training took it out of a person.
“Did what?” Hunter asked as he playfully kicked her back. For the next few seconds, they both engaged in a foot kicking session beside each other. As they continued to kick each other Hunter wondered would they ever flirt like a normal couple. Cliché nicknames, hand holding and stuff like that.
“Said Void, dude,” Power Prince said from his position on the floor. Hunter didn’t respond as his eyes darted around in his head while he repeated his previous statement to himself. “Did I?” he finally asked. “Yep,” Power Prince responded. “Sure did,” Jen said from the across the room. Hunter grunted gently. “You’re as forgetful as that fish from Finding Nemo,” Power Prince said.
Hunter didn’t mean to say it, but it was so hard to break the habit he had spent most of his life doing. He didn’t even mean it in a disrespectful way. Humans were devoid of power, and as such were voids. To him, it was no different than calling a tall person tall, or a smart person smart. It was what they were. No way around that.
Yet, he still hadn’t liked that he said it, and in truth, he had gotten better with using the word. Many people had. It had been around so long that for the older generation it was just a normal part of their vocabulary. “Sorry,” Hunter finally said. “Keep working on it,” Flex said as he propped himself up from the floor. “You don’t want to use the word at the wrong time, or when the cameras are rolling. The general public will get the wrong idea of you, and that’s a fight we don’t want to have. Understood, Paragon?”
Flex said the last part in a mocking tone and cracked a faint hint of a smile.
“Yes, dad,” Hunter said as Jen laughed slightly while she looked through her phone. Hunter had a sneaking feeling she would have given him a fist bump if he was closer to her. Flex ignored his comment, a talent he had developed well over the last year, and stood up on his feet and stretched.
Power Prince watched him rise and rolled his eyes. He wanted to lie on the ground some more and gather himself. While Power Prince had a background in boxing and was pretty well conditioned, he didn’t bounce back as well as Flex did. Few people did, now that he thought about it.
Flex had the powers of flight, near invulnerability, and strength on a supreme scale that wasn’t matched, and as far as Power Prince knew, those were his only powers. Flex didn’t have four powers like Hunter, for that matter nobody did, but Power Prince was beginning to wonder if Flex’s strength extended to his endurance as well. Against his personal wishes, Power Prince wiped the sweat from his brow, and slowly stood up beside Flex.
He took his role as second in command seriously, even if their numbers were small. “Speaking of fights,” Flex said as he covertly took a step away from Power Prince, “as per usual we will all review footage from today’s training, and look for ways to improve.”
Flex glanced at Prism who was standing beside Jen. “Prism, email us all a copy of today’s training please.” The hologram seemed to freeze for a few seconds. “Done, sir.” Prism replied. Flex gave the hologram a slight
nod.
“Bullet points, though. We’re all doing better, and improving. The time spent with Power Prince working on basic striking, and boxing principles is evident in our training. So be proud of that, but we all still have areas to improve in.” Hunter, still on the ground, rolled over and pushed himself up to face Power Prince and Flex.
He was mentally preparing for the other shoe to drop. He had known, trained with, and followed Flex long enough to know when he was trying to ease into things, and this was that time.
Hunter looked down at Danielle and extended his hand. “I think I’m good to stay down here for a few more minutes,” she replied through closed eyes. “Danielle is doing great, but her body language is giving away her attacks before they happen.”
Danielle’s eyes popped open as she jerked Hunter’s hand so hard to get up that she almost pulled him down to the ground instead. “Are you serious?” she asked Flex. It was a question but it was more hurled at him with surprise. “I am. Especially when you are about to use your powers. You draw your arm back rather far before releasing your energy.” This time she didn’t say anything, but her jaw clenched visibly, and her breathing became unusually loud.
“Don’t get upset. We all have stuff to work on.” Flex continued. “So, relax,” Hunter said as he placed his arm around Danielle, which she quickly removed. He jokingly continued to try to embrace her. “We all can’t be as good as Paragon.” Flex cleared his throat.
“Uh, Paragon, you may want to take the jokes down a bit.” Hunter turned to Flex. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Flex tightened his lips. He wanted to select his words carefully and try not to come off as some hardnose teacher.
“Well I know we’re all friends here, but we’re also all Icons. We’re capable of taking a punch. Even your girlfriend. No more holding back punches or powers. Come at her as hard as you do Power Prince and me.”
“Let’s not forget the black eye he gave me in training a few weeks ago,” Jen added. Hunter pointed a finger at her. “You know that was an accident.” “All I know is that my girlfriend had to use a lot of makeup to cover it,” Jen replied. Hunter went to open his mouth but a hand was placed on his shoulder that turned him around.
“You’ve been going easy on me?” Danielle asked. Hunter stuttered as he tried to find words to explain. “Save it for later,” Flex said. “Power Prince has a tendency to try to learn and use his powers in different ways when a good old electric punch will get the job done, and I’m overconfident with my strength. We all have things to work on. It comes with the territory, nobody is perfect, or any other common motivational phrase you want to use. We have gotten better and will continue to do so. End of story.”
Danielle laughed. “It’s easy to be overconfident when no other Icon is stronger than you,” Flex smirked. “We don’t know that. There are a lot of Icons out there that fly under the radar or have home training. For Atlas’ sake, there may be an Icon stronger than me right now working secretly for the government. In any case, I can’t always expect to be the strongest. So, as I said, we all have things to work on.”
Flex checked the time. “Otherwise, good session today. Same time tomorrow.” Hunter exhaled some. He was fearful that Flex was going to make them all return later tonight for a second session of training.
After the Imperial Lords fell, that was his way of training. Two times a day for two hours each. It was brutal, it was intense and possibly went against some work labor laws. Yet, to a certain degree, it was needed. It helped every one of them find something to focus on in an uncertain time. It also showed the world that they were actively still there, training and prepping for a time when they were needed.
“I’m going to shower and change then we need to get moving,” Flex said as he looked at Hunter. “Guess I should do the same,” Hunter replied. “I still don’t know why that bitch requested to see you?” Jen said as she walked over to them. “No offense, Flex,” she said as she glanced at their leader who was walking away.
He didn’t reply, though. He just kept right on walking. “Apparently she feels that she needs to talk to me or something. Who knows how she is thinking now? Either way, I’ll go. For all I know she wants to apologize,” Hunter replied.
“She killed Detach, tried to kill you, and pretty much sided with a nut job,” Power Prince said. “That’s a damn good amount of apologizing.” Hunter shrugged and removed his shirt. He couldn’t see it, but Danielle bit her lip a little as she watched him undress. “Need some help there?” She asked. “You were upset with me a moment ago. Don’t try to sneak back to my good side because you caught a glimpse of all this,” Hunter said as he extended his arms and exposed his body.
Over the last year of training, he had put on a little muscle. His arms were more defined, his chest was a little thicker, and even faint hints of abs were becoming visible on his stomach. If he stood next to Flex shirtless, he would still look like a malnourished child, but he was still happy with his progress.
Danielle didn’t reply, instead, she rolled her eyes and motioned for him to leave with the flick of her hand. “Guess I should shower and change, too,” Hunter said as he walked towards the entrance door.
“Wait for me, dude,” Power Prince said as he darted to catch up with Hunter. “I’m gonna brew some coffee, and unwind with a few episodes of Breaking Bad before I clean up,” he said. He had no idea of the surprise he had waiting for him in his room from Perkins.
“Just us girls then I suppose,” Danielle said as she wrapped her arm around Jen. “What should we do?” Jen frowned and removed Danielle’s arm from around her, and took several steps back. “You should take a lesson from them and go shower. You smell worse than a restaurant dumpster.”
Danielle grimaced. “A restaurant, you know what, it doesn’t even matter. Fine,” she said as she threw her hands up. “I’m going to shower.”
Forty-five minutes later, Flex and Hunter were standing in front of the main entrance to their base. Hunter took in Flex’s appearance and instantly felt like he had misread the dress code for the trip. Flex was dressed rather nicely to be heading to a maximum- security prison for some of the most notorious Icons around. He had on one of his nicer button-up shirts that were tucked into his black slacks, and perhaps the shiniest shoes Hunter had seen in a long time.
Then Hunter looked down at himself. Blue jeans, graphic shirt, and some white canvas shoes. A part of him wanted to go back and change, but then Hunter realized that of all the people in the world that had opinions of him, both good and bad, that the opinions of the prison residents meant the least to him.
Jen and Power Prince came through the glass doors of the base and stood outside with them. “What’s this?” Flex asked Power Prince as he took the chunk of paper out of his hand, and read it. “I found this beside the cannibalized remains of my coffee maker,” Power Prince replied. “I’ll talk to her about it,” Flex said as he gave the paper back to him.
Power Prince shook his head. “Oh no dude, it’s all good. I already talked to her, and told her the replacement model I want. I’m getting a major upgrade.” Power Prince paused for a second. “But, since Perkins doesn’t have a job, and most of the money she spends comes from the New Lords account, I guess you’ll be cutting the check.”
“In that case, get me one too,” Hunter said casually. “You’re the rich one here.” Flex replied. “Touché,” Hunter said back. He didn’t like to consider himself rich, even though he was.
His father was an infamous villain known as Blue Rush, and Blue Rush was very good at being bad. So good in fact, that the others usually teased him about his fortune. “We’ll be back in a few hours or so. If you need anything just radio us.” Flex said as he tapped his ear, and turned his head slightly to show the black earbud inside it.
“Why aren’t you guys in uniform?” Jen asked. “Any Icon visiting a prisoner in a non-traditional capacity has to wear street clothes,” Flex said as he adjusted his pants and then looked down at himself.
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“What’s considered traditional then?” Power Prince asked. “Interrogation type stuff,” Hunter said. “This is more of a family visit, so low key it is.”
“For Atlas’ sake, it took you long enough,” Jen said. Hunter raised his brow in confusion. Before he could speak, Jen pushed him out the way to greet the girl walking towards the base front entrance. She was short, curvy, with caramel skin and a short buzz cut. Flex turned his head as Power Prince leaned over. Jen grabbed the girl by her waist and kissed her on the lips to the point that the rest of the people watching became uncomfortable.
“Now it’s a party,” Danielle said as she came out the door. “You don’t kiss me like that,” she said to Hunter as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “Oh, I do. Just in private,” he replied. As they watched, the kiss was still going on. Flex cleared his throat. The kissing continued.
“Jen,” Hunter said in a slightly raised voice. Hearing her name seemed to bring her back to reality, as she casually dabbed at the corner of her mouth with her fingers. “Hi Sasha,” Danielle said.
Sasha waved to them all. Sasha and Jen had been together for some time now. Deep down, Hunter felt like he couldn’t have chosen a better partner for his sister. Not only was Sasha cool, but she was also a member of Up Up and Away. They were A supergroup composed of members that had to have a flight- based power to get in. They were well liked, had connections, and some truly powerful members filled their ranks. All in all, good people for Jen to be around.
“We’ve got to move,” Flex said to Hunter as he rose off the ground a few feet in the air. Hunter followed his lead and began to hover as well. “Keep them in line,” Flex said over his shoulder as he looked down on them. “I got it.” Power Prince said with a thumbs up. Flex grimaced. “I was talking to Sasha. The mature one of the group.” Power Prince shifted fingers from the thumb to the middle.