“In essence,” BT said, “assuming it actually is a form of telepathy, you fight it the way you would with any other telepath. Based on what we know, I’d suggest trying to break his concentration.”
“Easier said than done,” I replied, reflecting on how this guy had mentally slipped past all my defenses. Any future encounters with him had a real risk of serious harm.
Chapter 8
Our discussion of Gorgon Son essentially brought my debriefing to a close. We still had more questions than answers – Who was behind this? What did they want? – but we weren’t likely to get any more information in the near term. That being the case, BT excused herself and stepped over to the other side of the room, where she became absorbed in the data streaming across one of the monitors. I decided to take the opportunity to have a discussion with Mouse about something else that had been on my mind: the exhibition. Mouse, however, beat me to the punch.
“So,” he began, “you ready for tonight?”
I shrugged. “More or less.”
“You don’t sound particularly excited. Most kids would be thrilled to be on national TV.”
“I’m just ready for it to be over with.”
Mouse stared at me for a second before responding. “Listen, I know you’re not one of those guys who’s all wrapped up in the trappings of fame that often come with being a super. You just want to do your job.”
“Exactly.”
“But doing that job – like being a cop, soldier, or the like – is a lot easier when the public is behind you. When the people you’re serving support you. And it’s a lot easier to win that support when the public feels like they know you. Tonight is a great way to make that happen.”
“I don’t recall seeing the broadcast of your coming-out party when you joined the League.”
“I’m a special case. A couple of years ago, you couldn’t have paid me to be part of the Alpha League. They’d already rejected me three times, so it was clear that they didn’t value my talents.”
I already knew this part of Mouse’s story. He had participated in the Super Teen Trials three years in a row and had been rebuffed each time.
“And yet, here you are,” I said.
Mouse snorted in mock contempt. “I was coerced into joining. Oddly enough, although they made some other concessions to me, I only had one real requirement when I finally agreed to put on the uniform.”
“What was that?”
“I told them that I’d do my job, but I wanted absolutely no involvement with office politics. You know, League leadership and all that.”
I laughed. “How’s that working out for you?”
“It’ll be great as soon as I can get some dumb schmoe to take the job from me,” he said, grinning.
“How exactly did you end up as the boss man here? You’ve never said.”
Mouse sighed. “It’s not a position I set out for, and I was actually serious about telling them that I didn’t want to be involved in office politics. I just wanted to do my job.”
“So what happened?”
“I got here and almost immediately started asking questions about the way the League did things. Based on the answers I got, I started making suggestions for improvements, and the other members tended to adopt ninety-nine percent of what I proposed. From there, it was just a short hop to go from offering suggestions to giving unsolicited opinions, and then I moved on up to simply making decisions about what I felt was important. Before I knew it, I was running the joint. Go figure.”
“Anyway, we’ve gone off on a tangent here,” he said. “The point I was trying to make is that you’ve got to open up a little and let the general public get a glimpse of who you are.”
“They’ll get a glimpse,” I countered, “but probably not much more than that. I’m shooting to get through this thing as fast as I can.”
“Wait a minute…aren’t you part of the last act in the exhibition?”
“Yeah, me and Dynamo. They’ve got us pitted against each other in some kind of competition.”
“If you’re last, that means you’re the main event. You’re the reason everyone will stay tuned until the bitter end. Knowing that, are you really planning to just zip through whatever they have set up for you at the speed of sound?”
“Only if I can’t get up to the speed of light.”
Mouse shook his head in exasperation. “That’s a bit of a juvenile attitude, don’t you think? This isn’t like you, Jim. What’s really bothering you?”
I was silent for a moment, and then – without actually intending to do it so bluntly – found myself blurting out what was really weighing on my mind. “The whole thing’s kind of stupid. I mean, me and Dynamo? What kind of competition is that? Our powers don’t even match up! He’s the super-strong, impossible-to-hurt type, while I’ve got super speed, teleportation–”
“And too many other abilities to list in a reasonable time,” Mouse chimed in. “I’d just assume that the event organizers thought that it would be a good match-up. His strength against your versatility.”
“It’s about as good a match-up as a basketball team playing a football team in ice hockey. Whatever they have planned, neither of us is likely to be in our element.”
“So exactly what are your respective elements, if I may ask?”
“Dynamo should be in some strongman competition – lifting sedans and the like. For me, maybe something with another speedster, or another teleporter like Vestibule or–”
“Vestibule’s already signed up for another event.”
“My point is, Dynamo and I shouldn’t be battling head-to-head. The last thing I need is some silly face-off that’s going to perpetuate the myth that there’s some type of competition between him and me. Or worse, erupt into some sort of blood feud between us.”
“Hold on,” Mouse said, frowning. “There’s supposedly some sort of rivalry between you and Dynamo?”
“Not as far as I’m concerned, but that’s the rumor.”
“Since when? And what are you supposedly fighting him for?”
I threw up my hands in exasperation. “Where’ve you been, man? There’s all kinds of constant chatter about who is going to lead the next generation of supers. With Paramount and that mindless Gestapo who were following him locked away, the title is up for grabs.”
“And the smart money is on either you or Dynamo,” Mouse said, finally catching on.
“Apparently we’re the top two contenders.”
“Okay,” Mouse said. “I get the rumor. In fact, I think I’ve actually heard it before but simply didn’t pay much attention to it, so it didn’t even register that that’s what you were referring to when you mentioned a rivalry with Dynamo.”
“Alleged rivalry.”
“But if that’s all it is, what’s the big deal? Even if the event organizers paired you guys for that reason and the exhibition thing doesn’t perfectly mesh with either your powers or his, it’s just a little friendly competition. There’s no reason that it has to escalate into more than that.”
I let out a deep breath. “You don’t understand, Mouse. That whole thing with me and Paramount…it started with a little ‘friendly competition.’ A paintball game.”
“Huh?” Mouse was, of course, a bit confused. Not many people knew this part of the story, and even those who did probably hadn’t considered the information as a whole and connected the dots.
“Everyone knows that my on-air fight with the Alpha League started off as an altercation between me and Paramount. What they don’t know is that, prior to the theatrics that were caught on film, Paramount and I had been on opposite sides of a ‘friendly’ paintball game.”
“Let me guess: you beat him. That kid never learned how to be a graceful loser.”
“No, my team actually lost; they clobbered us. But I did something worse than beat him. I embarrassed him during the game, made him a laughingstock.”
I half-expected Mouse to ask for more detail, but he didn’t. Instead
, he just pursed his lips and let out a long, low whistle. “Yeah, that would do it with Paramount. He always took himself way too seriously, especially for a kid. A lot of other things make sense now, but of course, hindsight is always twenty-twenty. Regardless, you should have told me all this before.”
I shrugged. “It didn’t seem important.”
“Well, at least now I understand your issue with the exhibition: the last time Kid Sensation was on TV it was a disaster, and you’re worried about inadvertently putting on an encore performance.”
I nodded. “To be honest, part of it, initially, was the thought of losing my privacy, but there’s a workaround for that, of course. I’ll just change my appearance – make myself look like the Kid Sensation that everyone’s grown accustomed to. But yes, the main thing is the fisticuffs. I just don’t want anything like that happening again. I mean, I’m only just coming back out of the woodwork after two years.”
“First of all, those two years were a self-imposed exile; no one banished you, and you were always welcome here. I will admit, however, that we probably didn’t do a great job of conveying that.
“Second, I don’t think you have to worry about history repeating itself. You’re older – and hopefully more mature – so that any incident that occurs can probably be resolved without a battle royal. Plus, I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that you don’t have any vendettas going with any of the current teen supers.”
“Not that I’m aware of,” I said, “although I’m still in favor of getting the entire thing over as soon as possible.”
Mouse rubbed his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh, then gave me an appraising glance. “Look, you went to the game last night with Alpha Prime, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
I nodded. “It was a lot of fun.”
“What did you like about it?”
I frowned, thinking. “The display of skill, the competitiveness, the rivalry. The clash of equals. Guys giving it their all – digging down deep and trying to come up with a way to win. The go-for-broke attitude when your team is on the ropes and everybody fights with the heart of a warrior to get back in the game.”
“And do you feel like you got all that last night? Like you got your money’s worth?”
“Sure.”
“Now, what if – instead of a typical basketball game – the two teams just line up in front of the basket at opposite ends of the court, and the players get, say, ten shots each. Then, at the end, the team that had made the most baskets wins. What would you think about a game like that?”
“Wait, you’re saying that each player just gets ten free shots at the basket?”
“Yes.”
“And there’d be no defense, nobody trying to block the shot?”
“Correct. No interaction between the teams whatsoever.”
“And then you just count the number of baskets made, and the team with the most wins?”
“That’s right. What do you think about that?”
“I think it’s the worst idea for a sport ever conceived.”
“So I take it you don’t like golf,” Mouse said, grinning.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Forget it,” Mouse said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “As for the sport I described, you wouldn’t pay money to see something like that?”
“Nobody would! First of all, there’s no competition between the teams, which is the whole essence of sports. It’s just a bunch of guys shooting free throws – lackluster and boring! On top of that, the whole thing would be over in a flash! It probably wouldn’t last more than fifteen min–”
I froze, suddenly catching on to what Mouse was trying to get me to realize. Mouse himself just smiled, obviously pleased at having fulfilled his role as mentor by teaching me something.
“Okay,” I said. “I get it. Nobody wants to tune in just to see me race through an event at Mach speed.”
“Exactly. There’s very little entertainment value in it.”
“And if viewers aren’t entertained, they may not donate to the sponsored charities.”
“Or they may not tune in next time because we’ll have a reputation for being boring,” Mouse added. “Look, we both know that you’ve got game-changing abilities and you could probably get through whatever this event is tonight in a flash. The thing about game changers, though, is that they’re often most effective not by their actual use, but rather by the threat or potential of their use.
“Take the atomic bomb, for instance. Our country developed it, but we didn’t have to use it every time we came into conflict with another nation. Its mere existence was a game changer.”
I saw where Mouse was going. “So what you’re saying is, I should go slow tonight and give the audience a good show – regardless of how fast I could conceivably get through the exhibition – and not necessarily put everything I have on display because it’s not necessary.”
“More or less,” Mouse said, shrugging.
I just nodded, essentially agreeing to behave as suggested. I still wasn’t wild about participating in this thing, but I could certainly take one for the team in that regard.
Chapter 9
After getting everything off my chest, I had to admit that I felt better about participating in the exhibition. I still didn’t feel great about it, but definitely better. Mouse, however, was adamant that it could be a lot of fun if I just relaxed and tried to enjoy it.
Following our chat, Mouse got ready to go back to whatever he and BT had been working on when I showed up. Of course, I was free to hang around, but Mouse seemingly believed that idle hands were the devil’s workshop, and if I stuck around in his lab too long without a specific task to do, he’d eventually put me to work.
Normally, Mouse has one or two interesting things going on, so hanging out in his lab is usually a good time – even if he does make you get your hands dirty. However, there were a few errands I still needed to run, so I would be making my way to the exit soon. But before I left there was one thing I needed to do.
“Hey,” I said. “Where exactly did you guys move Li to?”
Mouse, who had turned his attention back to something on his worktable, looked up and then inclined his chin towards a set of floor-to-ceiling bookcases along a portion of one wall. I gave a brief nod of acknowledgment and then teleported.
*****
The bookcases in question actually covered the entrance to a secret chamber, which is where I popped up. The place was cavernous, and while there were some tables and chairs, it primarily appeared to serve as storage. There was an endless array of boxes, crates, and bins, as well as an extensive amount of shelving that housed a voluminous amount of miscellany, salmagundi, and curios.
Glancing around, it only took me a second to pinpoint Li’s location: a body-shaped mass covered with a white sheet, lying on top of a worktable. I walked over and reached out to pull the sheet away from what I assumed was Li’s head, then remembered Mouse’s comments about giving Li a certain degree of privacy.
“It is okay, Jim,” said Li’s voice, emanating from above me. “You can look.”
Previously, Mouse had integrated Li with the computer system in his main lab, allowing Li to speak through the lab’s audio system. Apparently he had done the same thing in here.
“Thanks,” I said, pulling down the sheet just enough to uncover Li’s face. “How’d you know I was even in here?”
“I still lack visual perception, but Mouse has given me access to motion detectors, thermal imagery, and other devices located in this alcove that allow me to recognize when others are present. He said that I should know when someone was ‘sneaking up on me.’”
“How’d you know it was me, specifically?”
“You have a distinctive physiology – unique even among supers – and you visit me regularly. Thus, using the instruments I now have access to, I have learned to recognize your biological telemetry.”
I nod
ded, only half listening as I found myself staring in fascination at what would eventually be Li’s new face. (Actually it was his old face – Asian features, bald head, etc. – but Mouse and BT had done an excellent job in recreating the visage of someone they had never met in the flesh.) He looked exactly as he had the last time I’d seen him whole, which meant that he resembled nothing more than an ordinary teenager. Only his eyes, open and staring blankly at the ceiling, gave any present indication that there was anything unnatural about him.
I smiled, happy and thankful that my friend would, hopefully, be up and about soon.
“So, what’s the estimate on when you’ll be able to move into your new home here?” I asked, patting the android body on the shoulder.
“Mouse wishes to increase the inherent defenses of my body, so he is making some improvements to the synthetic epidermis, among other things.”
“What, the skin?”
“Yes. In human beings, it is the largest organ in the body and also serves as the first line of defense against such hazards as disease and the elements. The skin on my original body did much the same for me, but Mouse is of the opinion that he can enhance the abilities of my new epidermis without sacrificing its natural look and feel. He estimates three to four weeks before it will be ready.”
“So you could be on your feet in a month? That’s great! I can’t wait to show you around.”
“Unfortunately, while I may be able to ‘move in,’ as you put it, in a month, I will probably need an additional month before I am ready to go out in public.”
“Why’s that?” I asked, curious.
“Because of my new body. Although it resembles my old one, it is not an exact replica by any means, and I will need time to orient myself to it and perhaps make adjustments in terms of balance, internal processes, and the like.”
“In other words, you’re going to need time to break in your new body, like a new pair of shoes.”
“Exactly.”
“Then I look forward to showing you around in two months’ time,” I said.
The Kid Sensation Series Box Set Page 45