Nathan Returns

by Jason Zandri

  “What is your issue with me?” Nathan asked. “I’ve never done a damned thing to you personally. As a matter of fact, I’ve probably spent a disproportionate amount of time in Texas in the past year, given some of the weather patterns you’ve had there recently.” Nathan scowled and said, “I understand the whole ‘people fear what they don’t understand’ mantra, but seriously, what have I done to illicit such fear in people?”

  “Gods among us,” the Congressman said. “People, with a healthy fear of the almighty, don’t like the idea of false gods among them.”

  “I never positioned myself as such,” Nathan said and got right in his face. “If anything, I did my best to blend in. I never picked a superhero name or anything like that. I never paraded around in the public court or played up to the press; I did what I could to help people who needed help, and I would leave right away. I stayed out of the limelight; I did what needed to be done and moved along. How were those things bad? How were those things arrogant or proud?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” the Congressman said, staring him down. “Many people have a mindset and a thought process that they will never change from. Your very existence challenges their entire belief system. Greek gods … what’s next? Roman? Norse?”

  “I didn’t believe in it either, but it’s very real,” Nathan said.

  “Have you seen them? Have you met them?” Congressman Johnson asked.

  “No … I was told by—” Nathan started, but then the Congressman cut him off.

  “Told? So, let’s see if I understand you, boy. Someone told you so, and magically imbued you with powers, which are supposedly being delivered by the Greek gods. If you’ve never met them, how are you sure it’s not Lucifer or someone else just as evil?” Congressman Johnson asked.

  Nathan stood silently for a moment, and then responded finally, “I have to take Cici at her word. She’s the woman I helped, and who granted me the powers. She had nothing; not even food to eat. If she had direct access to the powers for herself, I would think she would have at least conjured herself some food. I don’t believe she did. She was like a trusted guardian of the powers. It was her responsibility to pass the guardianship of them to the next of her kind, or to someone worthy to wield and control them. When it was her time to go, rather than pass the guardianship to the next Watcher, she granted them to me.”

  “Why you? What makes you so special?” The Congressman asked.

  “I used to ask myself that a lot, Congressman,” Nathan said and looked past him and into the rising sun. “When I couldn’t get a solid answer, even from Cici beyond the grave, I stopped asking the question. I decided that whether it be the Greek gods or God himself, I somehow have these great powers. I’m not sharing any secrets with you when I tell you what you already know. My powers are limited and controlled and are generally only active when there’s some level of emergency, and I’m locked into the power-set of whichever hero shirt I wear. My guess is, that was done to keep absolute power from me. I assume that they know the saying is true.”

  “And what saying is that?” Congressman Johnson asked.

  “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

  Congressman Johnson squinted and leaned in. Senator Kelly stepped closer, and Rebecca landed next to them to listen. “Let me tell you something, boy. You may be doing some of the right things for some people, but you’re not pulling the wool over my eyes. I see things clearly, and so do some of the others who are part of this effort. You think that Jane Parker getting exposed and taken down, and then taking me down in this manner, is going to stop our lot, then you are mistaken.”

  The Congressman looked over at Senator Kelly. “You and the President think you have a lock on this. This is bigger than him. It’s bigger than the both of you.”

  Congressman Johnson turned back to Nathan. “I know what you’re doing in those cities. Well, I don’t know exactly. But I do know you have a footprint in each one of America’s thirty-five most populous cities. Because you’ve no income of your own, it means you must have other means at your disposal and, generally, that is a foreign interest. Indeed, most of the buildings we believe you’re attached to are foreign owned. We will get to the bottom of it all. Then we’ll see who is being held in shackles.”

  “Agent,” Senator Kelly called. “We’re all done here. You can take your men and leave.”

  “That’s right, take me away and charge me,” the Congressman said while the agent came over. “I will be out in hours and will tie this up in court for years. The rest of the group will continue; we’ll expose you for the fraud and the danger that you are.” He continued to speak while the agent led him away, “Attempting to control America’s power grid! We saw that too. There’s more, and we’re going to find it. We’re going to expose it all.”

  Nathan watched the agents lead the Congressman away, and then he turned his attention to Rebecca. “Thank you for your help today. The fog cover was perfect; it allowed us to catch everything on the spectrum cameras, despite the lack of visual acuity, and with the internal microphone setup on the communicator, we caught all the audio too.”

  Rebecca smiled. “I wanted to help; I was glad to. I would have liked to think that was going to be the end of all of this, but from the sound of it, there seems to be more to it.”

  “Yes, so it would seem,” Senator Kelly said, and then took out his smartphone to review a message. “I guess it’s safe to say that whether or not we’ve seen the last of Congressman Johnson, we haven’t seen the last of the people he’s involved with.” He put the phone away and studied Nathan’s face closely. “Something on your mind, Nathan?”

  Nathan turned to catch the morning sun on his face. Then he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I tried, real hard, to not be a pariah. It’s next to impossible, given these gifts. I’m not putting myself anywhere near the category, but I suppose if the Son of God walked the Earth today, he’d be met with ridicule, doubt, hate, and non-believers. I have to believe there was a lot of that, as well, two-thousand-some-odd years ago.”

  “I am sorry, Nathan,” Senator Kelly said and ran his hand through his graying hair. “If there’s anything I’ve learned being in politics, it’s that some people really love you, to a fault, and some really hate you, to a level of extremism. The rest are indifferent or totally oblivious. But they all deserve your focus when it’s your time to lead.”

  Nathan smiled a little, opened his eyes, and turned to Rebecca. “See, this is why I said Senator Kelly could be trusted. He does more than say things; he does things. He takes actions and risks.”

  Rebecca smiled and nodded.

  Senator Kelly returned the smile and put his hand on Nathan’s shoulder. “I’m not perfect; you’re not, she isn’t either, but the whole world somehow expects us to be. People in a position of power and authority like myself, and the two of you with the actual power in these special gifts, are always held to an impossible higher standard. We’ll never totally measure up, but the reason we succeed is because we never stop trying.”

  Nathan looked into Senator Kelly’s eyes and felt that if he had closed them and listened to him talk, the image that would have filled his head would have been the face of his father.

  “I will continue my efforts to measure up,” he said.

  Senator Kelly nodded and patted him on the shoulder. He then turned to Rebecca. “Well, it’s nice seeing you again. I wasn’t sure if I ever would again, after the America’s Roundtable broadcast, but I’m sure you can understand why I would never dream it would have been like this.”

  “Life is certainly filled with unexpected turns,” Rebecca said in a cool tone.

  “I know you weren’t entirely impressed with the Congressman on the show, and certainly not here, especially given all the recent events. I remember that you and General Westmartin also seemed to be on opposite ends of the discussion that night as well and, to be honest, with respect to all of this, we don’t know General Westmartin’s role
or if he even has one. If he does, he played his hand well. When the attack on the courthouse came, he was as surprised as the rest of us and communicated critical information to Nathan that allowed him to respond.”

  Rebecca simply stared at him with an empty look. Once Nathan touched the small of her back with his hand, her demeanor changed and she became outwardly empathetic. “I’m sure the Congressman truly believes he was doing what was right for … shall we say … King and Country. That doesn’t excuse him for the liberties he took, the lives he put at risk, and the laws that he broke.”

  “All of that is true, and that’s why he’ll be charged and prosecuted for his crimes. We can do that, thanks in part, to your help along with Nathan’s,” Senator Kelly said with a small smile.

  “We just want to help,” Rebecca said, looking over and smiling at Nathan, who returned the smile.

  “Well,” Nathan said. “If you don’t need us for anything else further, I suppose we need to get going.”

  “Absolutely,” the Senator said. “I want to thank you both for everything; for all the work the two of you do together, using your gifts, to make the country … the world a better place.”

  Nathan just nodded. “If you need us, call; you still have that device I gave you.”

  “I do,” the Senator said and thumped his hand on his pocket.

  “With two of us now, I guess we can get twice as much done,” Nathan said, turning to Rebecca. “Can you give me a lift? Morpho can’t fly, and I’m sure the power is down at this point. To be honest, the fact it came online for this exercise surprised me.”

  “Of course,” Rebecca said softly.

  “I’m surprised the powers were enabled as well,” Senator Kelly said, looking upwards as the pair drifted up. “From what you’ve described, this isn’t the type of emergency that normally allows them to come online.”

  “It’s not,” Nathan said, as they climbed. “But I’ve learned to question less.”

  The pair disappeared into the morning sky. Senator Kelly took the dog from the bench, and then walked back towards the tech crew and the equipment van.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Lisa made her way into the bar at 515 Third Avenue and found Nathan sitting at the corner table immediately inside the door. He smiled at her and gestured to the seat.

  “Sorry I ordered already but I was starved,” he said with a mouthful of food.

  “No worries,” she said and sat down across from him on the raised stool. “So, I take it this will be one of the last conversations we have for a while.”

  “Probably,” Nathan said while picking up a couple of sweet potato fries. He motioned to Lisa to take some. “My powers are back to normal. They are only enabling when there is a threat to address.”

  “And that means you’ll likely only be here in New York City when there’s an emergency. Does it sound bad that I’m hoping for a crisis or two?” Lisa asked, picking a fry off the plate.

  The waitress came over, and Lisa gestured to have the same thing that Nathan had: a beer and a plate of sweet potato fries.

  “Maybe a little,” Nathan said. “But you’re right, now that I’m staying … elsewhere; I’m only here, generally, when the need arises.”

  “Make sure before you go that you stop off and see Adia and Officer O’Malley. They’d be upset if you left without doing so.”

  “I already saw Jack on the way over,” Nathan said, and then took a drink of beer. “He wished me well, told me to be careful, keep up the fight, and that sort of thing. He seemed to have some reservations about Rebecca.”

  “Oh?” Lisa said, widening her eyes to feign innocence. “What did he say?”

  Nathan frowned at her, and then smiled slightly. “Oh, you know, the same thing you’re going to say … the same thing Adia is going to say later. Only he says it in his Brooklyn accent, and Adia’s will come across in her Puerto Rican one.”

  Lisa smiled. “Okay, it’s true. We are all worried about her. As part of that, we’re all worried about you.”

  “So let me help settle you,” Nathan said and ate more fries. “What are you worried about? I can get Adia’s take later when I talk to her.”

  The waitress came by with Lisa’s beer and fries and looked at Nathan. He held up his glass for a refill.

  “Well,” Lisa said. “For one thing, we all understand the want and desire to be with someone. I am more understanding as to why you broke it off with Adia and, being objective, I can see why this could work. I suppose there’s the age difference between you and Rebecca, too, somewhere in the ballpark of fifteen years, but that’s minor on the scale.”

  “And how do you know how old she is?” Nathan asked.

  “Well, she was a professor and did have a couple of papers published, so there’s information out there on her. She’s thirty-nine …”

  “And I am twenty-six; that’s a thirteen year age difference. That’s not outrageously outside an acceptable norm. Of course, there’s also the whole ‘special gift’ commonality too,” Nathan said.

  “Well, yes and no,” Lisa said softly and looked him directly in the eyes. Nathan glanced up from his food, said nothing, and waited for her to continue. She picked at her fries, and then said, “I’ll make the simple point about your powers in the way that I’m aware of them, and that is basically from what you’ve shared with me. Yours were granted to you, by Cici, through a magical enchantment, tied to a talisman.” Lisa pointed to the copper bracelet on Nathan’s wrist. “This channels the power of the Prime universe and planet Earth in the same manner that the Greek gods, the beings from that mythos, use it.” She paused for a moment and looked at Nathan, who stared. “How am I doing so far?”

  “Spot on,” he said without flinching.

  “Cici was a Watcher. It was her duty as the active Master Watcher to wait on a call from the Olympians to find a champion, if a call was to come at all. Or, at the time of her death, pass the talisman to the new Master Watcher.”

  “Correct,” Nathan said while diverting his attention briefly to his food.

  “The Olympians made that call, and Cici acted by making you the recipient. Even with that, the powers have limitations.”

  “Yes.” Nathan sounded annoyed. “The powers are only active in times of dire need. I only mimic the powers of the superhero whose shirt I wear at the time. If the shirt is removed or somehow destroyed or if the emergency ends, the powers fade until they’re gone.”

  “Okay,” she said while the waitress came over with Nathan’s beer and left it. “What are Rebecca’s limitations?”

  “As far as I know?” Nathan asked, and then took a drink from his beer. “Her powers are limited to Earth and the elements: fire, wind, rain, and earth. She seems to have some level of gravitational and weather control, but I suspect that’s part of the connection to Earth.”

  “Okay, but she’s not throttled, so to speak,” Lisa said. A confused look came over Nathan’s face. “Your powers are not always on. The Olympians limited them in that way. I would suspect they could ‘close the tap’ so to speak and cut you off totally from them if you went off the reservation, seeing as how they limit the use to dire situations only.”

  “I never thought of it,” Nathan said. “I suppose so.”

  “Who addresses Rebecca? From the very little you’ve told me—”

  “The very little I honestly know,” Nathan said.

  “Fair enough. From what you’ve told me, she used a magical incantation, a much more complex one than the few seconds that Cici used on you, on herself, and granted herself the abilities.”

  Nathan raised up his hand. “I don’t know how it all works—the links to the realms and to the magic that seems to be involved—but at the time there was the celestial event. Perhaps that allowed for a shorter incantation or whatever. There’s some science to this as well as the magic. I don’t have the knowledge or the experience to dissect it all.”

  “Be that as it may,” Lisa said and wrapped her hands around
her bottle. “This was done to you and with ‘circuit breakers’ in place. Rebecca cast her own spell, for lack of a better way to say it, onto herself and for her own use and gain. I think it’s safe to assume that she didn’t put in a regulator to throttle her use.”

  “Okay, so I think I understand your concerns with her. Do you, and I guess Adia, have these same concerns with me? Do you stop to think about how to deal with me if I go off the reservation?” Nathan asked then ate another fry from his plate. “Because I have to be honest with you, when you say it like that, it sounds like the same mindset that belongs with Congressman Johnson and his ‘followers.’”

  “No.” She shook her head and flicked her gaze down to the table. “I can’t speak for Adia, but I guess I am biased. I know you … if the powers went to your head or somehow began to control or change you, I believe you would resist. I believe you’d acknowledge the issue and address it.”

  “And you do that because you know me. You trust me. It’s likely why I was given the gift in the first place,” Nathan said.

  Lisa looked back up at him. “Yes, correct. And Rebecca found a way to bestow her gift of powers on herself.”

  “But you give me the benefit of the doubt. At a minimum, and honestly, until something calls that into question with her, she should be innocent until proven guilty,” Nathan said with a harsh look on his face.

  “Nathan,” Lisa said with care in her tone, and reached forward with her hands to take his. “You and I have this deep, and at the same time, odd relationship. We love one another, but we are not in love with each other. But it’s more than a ‘love you like a sibling’ thing. I understand you have feelings for Rebecca and she for you. Having said that, my concerns are all too real. When you got injured, she wasn’t this soft, empathetic woman that you see most of the time. She was … different. She seemed ready to lash out and harm anyone beneath her.”