The Enhancer series Box Set

by Wyatt Kane

  And yet, he still held himself back.

  Instead, he jumped back to an earlier topic. “You said that not everyone has hidden powers within them. What about me?”

  Immediately, Tempest brightened again. “Let’s find out, shall we? Press your thumb on the sensor on top of the bracelet.”

  Ty followed her directions and a holographic string display showed up, offering two menu items: Profile, and Communication.

  “Choose the Profile option,” Tempest said.

  7: Hardly Heroic

  Ty did as Tempest said, and the holographic screen changed to display an outline image that he recognized as himself. Beside that image was a list of different profile descriptors under various headings:

  General

  Name: input required

  Modifications: None

  Unique Skill: Technological Enhancement

  Alignment: Neutral Good

  Baseline

  Strength: 4

  Durability: 3

  Healing: 5

  Stamina: 4

  Agility: 4

  Intelligence: 7

  Wisdom: 5

  Skill: N/A

  Post enhancement

  Strength: 6

  Durability: 5

  Healing: 7

  Stamina: 5

  Agility: 5

  Intelligence: 8

  Wisdom: 6

  Skill: 2

  “It’s like a character sheet for a game,” Ty said.

  Tempest was grinning broadly. “Yes. My father might have been a mad scientist, but he wasn’t completely out of touch with the rest of the world. He played role-playing games whenever he needed a break from his work and couldn’t think of a better way to display information like this.”

  Ty was fascinated. He read through the list but had no real reference point. “What is the scale?” he asked.

  “It’s mostly a one to ten type of thing, but it depends. If you have a strength of ten, for example, you’d be about the strongest possible for someone who isn’t wearing a device. Like a weightlifter or heavyweight wrestler. Five is about average. If you showed a number above ten, then you’re into the ‘super’ category. Mine shows fourteen, but that’s misleading as well. My Unique Skill adds a few bonus points. Zach is –” Tempest paused for a moment, catching herself, “was the same. He could use his telekinesis as a shield, which bumped up his durability significantly. Although not, as it turned out, by enough.”

  It made complete sense to Ty. His roommate was heavily into games, and in fact, made his living playing them. Ty had learned more than enough for this to be familiar to him.

  It also left him disappointed.

  “I’m not very super, am I?” he said. His stats even after enhancement weren’t much to write home about.

  Yet Tempest still favored him with her teasing smile. “As it turns out, you are. You have a Unique Skill. Very few people have one of those.”

  Ty frowned. “Technological Enhancement? Sounds like what I do now. Fixing things, getting them to work.” He didn’t even want to think about what it could mean that there was a lowly ‘2’ next to it. Was he really that bad at what he did?

  “It’s something,” Tempest said. “And we don’t really know what it means yet. It took a little while for me to figure out how to convert energies in ways that proved useful. I had to learn how to fly.” She gave a peculiar expression, as if deciding how much she should say. “Dinah’s skills are also not those you might associate with crime fighting. But they’re useful, nevertheless. And remember, a two means little if you’re the only one in the world who has the skill at all. Zach started out with a two in telekinesis.”

  Ty thought she was just trying to be kind. Regardless, he certainly wasn’t in the same league as Tempest herself, or the mountain of a man who had murdered Zach.

  “In any event, the important one as far as I’m concerned is your alignment,” Tempest added.

  “Neutral Good.”

  “Yes. Although I’d already figured as much for myself. It means that we don’t have to keep you locked in this room for the rest of your life.”

  Ty couldn’t help himself. He laughed out loud. Then he stopped, taking in Tempest’s expression. She was still smiling, but there was something behind that smile that sobered him completely.

  “Wait – you’re serious?”

  “Well, yes. At least until we could figure out another option. We’ve already got one super powered villain running about with a device on his arm. We don’t want another.”

  Ty stared at her, lost between dismay at how close he’d come to becoming a prisoner on the one hand and intense, ongoing desire on the other.

  But Tempest wasn’t yet done. It looked like she wanted to say something but was unsure how Ty might respond.

  Ty simply waited for her to speak.

  “And that,” she began a little hesitantly, “brings us to my next question. You have the device. Your alignment is Neutral Good. You have a Unique Skill, even if we don’t know how to use it yet. So, would you like to be part of the team?”

  Ty was astonished. He didn’t know what to say. A day ago, he had been a total loser, no more than a low-paid, disrespected nobody at the Concubine Club, with no life to speak of, few friends and few prospects. Nothing to look forward to.

  A few minutes ago, he’d been looking at the enhancements the device had given him from a completely self-centered point of view, without any consideration of what it might mean for others.

  Now, with just a few words, Tempest had managed to change everything. Suddenly, all because of the device on his wrist, he could be part of a superhero team, helping to fight crime around the city of New Lincoln. Perhaps not in the role of hero, but didn’t most comic books show that superheroes had sidekicks? Could Ty be one of those?

  Maybe his skill would prove useful enough for that.

  And there was more to it as well. Tempest’s expression was open and obvious. The role of a superhero teammate, even if just as a sidekick, apparently came with benefits which were hard to ignore.

  Ty’s first instinct was to leap at the chance. To be something more than he was, to fight crime at the side of this amazing woman, was beyond his wildest dreams. But the contrary part of his mind wouldn’t stay quiet. There were downsides to consider as well, not the least of which had been highlighted by Zach.

  Zach was dead. Zach Kennedy, a superhero with real powers, the man whose device Ty currently wore, had died in the line of duty. He had been killed by a monstrous supervillain who had been moments from murdering Ty as well. The only reason he had survived was that Tempest had the power to save him.

  Did he really want to be the damsel in distress in their superhero team? Was that what it would amount to?

  There were other considerations as well. Regardless of what he did with this time, he still needed to eat. Still needed to pay his rent and his monthly bills. And try to pay off his debts. Which meant that he needed to maintain an alter ego, which would be his usual self.

  He already worked more hours than he wanted to think about just to scrape by. When would he have the time to fight crime?

  Nor could he easily give up his job.

  The practicalities of the situation were real enough that Ty found himself shaking his head.

  “I can’t,” he said, shaking his head. He couldn’t keep the disappointment out of his voice. “And you don’t really need me anyway. I would just slow you down.” Ty heaved a big sigh, acutely aware that he was passing up an opportunity to get to know Tempest far better than he already did. It was as if somebody had offered Ty the keys to the entire kingdom and he had just turned it down.

  Yet he knew it was the right thing to do. “I’m sorry,” he said glumly. “I guess I had better take the device off. Maybe you can find someone with better skills to wear it.”

  There was silence. Tempest’s disappointment was obvious. She wasn’t angry or upset because of his words, just sad. And, in the end, accepting.
After a time, she nodded and offered a smile that was a shadow of her usual one.

  But what she said next surprised him. “We can’t take it off. It is bound to you now in the same way that it was bound to Zach, in the same way that mine is bound to me. It will only come off when you die.”

  “You can’t take it off?” Immediately, Ty looked for a way, but there was no latch, no obvious clasp.

  “No. That was part of my father’s design. The nanites are constantly refreshed by the device, which continues to enhance us. That means our skills and capabilities improve over time, but there’s a downside as well. If we were to remove the device, we would suffer a kind of withdrawal. Apparently, it would be painful and debilitating, more so the longer we’ve been wearing it. And there’s another reason. He didn’t want the devices to fall into the wrong hands.” She shrugged. “I guess that worked for a while, at least.”

  Ty was aghast. He was starting to understand the magnitude of what had happened when the device had closed around his wrist. Tempest had not only lost a teammate in Zach, but with Ty wearing the device, the team would remain forever one person short.

  Until Ty died.

  And yet, Ty’s talent was technology enhancement. He liked to tinker with gadgets. If anyone could figure out how to get the device off, surely it would be him?

  He promised himself that he would do so at his earliest opportunity, regardless of the withdrawal he would go through. Then, regretfully aware that his best opportunity with this amazing woman had passed, Ty returned to the practicalities. In a few hours, he would need to go back to work.

  “So, um,” he began. “Am I free to go? Or does that thing about being locked in here for the rest of my life still hold?” He tried to keep his tone light but heard how flat it sounded.

  Nevertheless, Tempest gave him another sad smile. “Of course. Unless you are planning to become the next supervillain?”

  Ty managed a laugh. “I think, even if I were, you could handle me fairly easily.” He wanted to say that he might even enjoy it, but didn’t. He sobered instead. “Sorry,” he blurted. “For Zach, and everything else. Thank you for saving my life. I wish I could have been the person you’re looking for.”

  “So do I,” Tempest replied. Then she stood up. “Would you like a lift home?”

  8: An End To The Adventure

  Ty nodded. Given that he had no clue where in New Lincoln he actually was, he did indeed like the thought of getting a lift home. But there was something he had to attend to first.

  “Um, I have to get dressed,” he said.

  Tempest raised an eyebrow and grinned broadly. “Are you shy?” she asked.

  Ty didn’t think he needed to explain how enormously attracted he was to her. Tempest had worked that one out for herself. Yet if he were to remove the covers, the immediacy of that attraction would be readily apparent.

  Instead of answering directly, he just nodded.

  Tempest’s grin grew broader. “Who do you think got you out of your clothes when I brought you here?” she asked teasingly. Yet she didn’t press the issue. She just shook her head in mock disappointment, then stood and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

  Ty watched Tempest’s perfectly formed behind until she was gone. It was mesmerizing. Then he swung his legs over the side of the bed and placed his bare feet on the floor.

  He felt different when he stood. It was as if he was looking at the world from a different height. Nor did his body feel exactly the same as before. He felt lighter. Stronger. He wondered if it was his imagination, or if it was just the difference between being a four and a six in Strength.

  When he put on his clothes, there was no longer any doubt. His trousers were tighter than they had been, and while they weren’t the best trousers in the world, at least they had fit him well enough. Now, they were a good inch or two shorter than they needed to be, and the seams were straining around his thighs.

  Nor was it just his trousers. It was his shirt as well, which was tight about his shoulders and upper arms, and the top buttons wouldn’t do up. And his sleeves – he couldn’t button the cuff around the device, but that wasn’t a surprise. The surprise was that his arms now stuck out by about the same length as his legs stuck out from his trousers.

  Even his jacket, which had never been form-fitting, was now a size or two on the small side.

  Perhaps his clothing had shrunk in the rain. Yet he’d been rained on before and they hadn’t shrunk then. The only other option was that Ty had somehow grown several inches taller.

  The thought was unsettling, but also enjoyable. He wanted to check himself out in a mirror to see if it was true. He’d always wondered what life might be like if he were a few inches taller and a good deal more muscular. Now it seemed that he had the opportunity to find out.

  At the same time, he wondered what might happen if he did manage to remove the device from his wrist. Would he slowly and painfully shrink back to his normal, weedy self? Or would the height and muscle increase be permanent?

  Either way, it was a question for later. For the moment, it was time to bring this adventure to an end.

  With a heavy sigh, he went to join Tempest.

  ◆◆◆

  Getting dropped off at home was a far different and more enjoyable experience than Ty could have ever imagined. They didn’t travel by bus, subway, or anything else Ty might have thought of as normal.

  Instead, they flew.

  Tempest had mentioned before that she could fly, but with everything going on, Ty hadn’t truly absorbed what that would mean. When they made it out of the building that housed the stunning woman’s safe house, Tempest turned to him with a grin.

  “Buckle up,” she said, and before Ty could respond, she stepped in behind him, unceremoniously gripped him under his arms and hoisted him into the air.

  Ty gave a very unmanly squeal of panic as his feet left the ground, and Tempest laughed out loud.

  Yet Ty wasn’t afraid, exactly. More astonished than anything else. “Up, up, and away,” he said as he gasped for breath.

  “What?” Tempest asked, her lips inches from Ty’s left ear.

  “Nothing,” Ty replied. He was too overwhelmed with what was happening to say anything more. He was flying! Held tightly by Tempest, he rose into the sky as if he were in an elevator that wasn’t there. It was intoxicating and frightening both at once, his heart was pounding in his ears, and he was acutely aware of Tempest’s body pressing against his own. Within a small number of seconds, they were high enough above the tallest buildings that he could see the city laid out below.

  Tempest leaned close. “Which way?” she breathed, her voice full of excitement and joy, with maybe a little pride mixed in for good measure.

  Ty’s thoughts were all over the place and wrapped up with a million emotions as well. He was cold, excited, slightly terrified and astonished. It was beyond exhilarating, and he’d never experienced anything like it.

  Then, all at once, he relaxed. Tempest’s arms were strong, and he felt secure. She wouldn’t drop him.

  “I don’t know,” he said to her. “The landmarks are all different from up here. Um, take me back where you found me? I was only a mile or so from my apartment.”

  “Okay, flyboy,” she replied. “But I would hold on to your socks, this is going to get exciting!” With that, she leaned into him, and within moments they were zooming along faster than Ty could have imagined.

  He couldn’t help himself. He didn’t know whether to laugh or to shout out loud. In the end, he expressed himself in the only way he could. He let out a wordless shout of sheer exuberance that shunted all of his worries away.

  ◆◆◆

  Ty wished he could stay in the air forever, kept aloft by the fantastic woman pressing against him. But all things must come to an end, and the flight was disappointingly short. Tempest brought him gently back to the ground around the corner from his apartment in an area where there were few people to see.

 
; Ty was abuzz with the joy of it all. It was as if he had enjoyed the most spectacular amusement park ride that could ever be imagined. Not that he’d ever actually been to an amusement park. He never had the budget for anything like that. Yet he couldn’t imagine any rollercoaster being able to offer the same sort of experience he had just had.

  He stumbled as Tempest started to let him go, so she held onto him for a little longer.

  “Easy there,” she said. “Got to get your land legs working again.”

  Ty would have been more than happy if she never let him go, but when Tempest felt that his balance was back, she stepped away.

  He turned to face her. She looked sad. Wistful. It was more than enough to make him regret his decision. Yet during the flight, he had recognized that the device had not done the same for him as it had done for her. She could fly. The strength in her arms was undeniable. It felt like she had wrapped him in iron as she lifted him skyward.

  He was not even close to being in the same league as her. Not in any way imaginable.

  His rationale for turning her down was as solid now as it had been when he’d done it. He would have been no more than a burden to a team of superheroes. As useless as a noob in a superboss fight. And he would have ended up deader than Zach.

  In the gaming worlds his roommate inhabited, death wasn’t much of a problem. But this wasn’t a gaming world. This was real. Superpowers or not, there was no option to respawn.

  “Thank you,” Ty said again. “I’ll figure out how to get this device off. When I do, I’ll return it to you, and you can give it to someone better able to use it.”

  Tempest smiled again. “Ty, you are such a cutie,” she said. “The devices also act as holo-phones. If you change your mind, just choose the Communication option and click my name. Or if you need anything else I might be able to provide.” She said the last with a wink, and Ty again found himself staggered by how impossibly attractive he found her.

  Not that it mattered anymore. Ty was a realist. His days of being part of her superhero team were over before they began, and with them, any real chance he had to get to know her better.