In a dark room that smells like
stagnate
water and concrete, the sound of static
electricity is heard
soft at first and then
a loud pop which ignites a surge of
electricity throughout the room. A small
light hanging from the
ceiling turns on
revealing a small ten by ten concrete room
with a
metal door tagged with graffiti. A
young man walks over to an old
sink stained
yellow and splashes a bit of water on his
face. Looking
in the mirror he runs his
hands
through his hair and leaves the room.
Walking
down dark and dingy bricked corridors of old
subway tunnels.
“I
know what you’re thinking if life is so
much better than why am I
living like a rat?
Believe me when I say rats have it better
than I
do. Rats are pets, that occasionally
eat chocolate and are sometimes
used for
scientific break through. Me, I don’t have a
purpose all I
have are powers. I can’t fly,
I don’t have ex ray vision, no
super speed
here, I can’t control anything with my mind.
Nope all I
have is static.”
From
the infinite darkness of an old tunnel
a loud crackling noise is
heard with the
fallowing of blue lights that crackle and
pop.
Engulfed in electricity the young man
is Sliding on a rail line with
the surge
coming from his legs and hands. Blasting
through the
tunnels blowing papers and
debris
everywhere.
“It
comes in handy when you’re trying to get
around down in the
subterranean, ever since
they shut down the tunnels and recycled all
the trains and cars I get the whole place to
myself.”
Passing
a signal light he comes up to a
platform which he then launches
himself
onto,
landing in a hero pose he makes himself
laugh. Making
his way to the set of stairs
he
sees an old poster of a cliché
looking
superhero named Captain. Mocking the pose he
rolls his eyes
and tares it down. Crumpling
it in his hands he then uses his power
to
set
it on fire.
“yeah
heroes are a joke, there’s nothing
more pathetic then an elite
superhero in a city of people with sanctioned powers.”
Stepping
up into the sun light he puts on
his
sunglasses and gets lost in the
crowds of
Arcadia. Surrounded by the sounds and smells
of the
markets. Some of the vendors use
replicating technology to resupply
their
product. Each market tries to sample from
various cultures and
ethnicity from
Japanese,
Indian, Classic American chicken and
waffles,
Turkish, Swedish, Hungarian, Italian. A
little kid goes to
try a piece of kiwi off
the stand but the vendor uses his power to
levitate it back on the stand. Using it’s
own
powers the kid
creates a sucker out of thin
air and sticks it in his mouth.
“Everyone
here has a sanctioned power or powers, but only one is recognized for
being a hero. Let me show you.”
Passing
by a building with a colossal piece
of glass mounted to its roof. The
glass
starts to playback the last epic save from
the Captain saving a
life, stopping an
explosion, lifting a building and of course
stopping a villain from robbing a bank.
“That’s
this generations version of Captain, the only superhero in the city.
When the government discovered his unlimited potential he would spend
his life being groomed by the last Captain to become the future hero
of Arcadia. No one knows who he is, well someone has to know, but
it’s a rarity to have more than two powers.”
Passing
through the park where the statue of
the eight year old girl is seen
and a bunch
of little kids playing with their powers
pretending to be
superheros. On the corner
of
a crosswalk he watches as a group of
well
dressed kids sit and have coffee together.
Using their telepathy
to control the waiting
staff and those with lesser powers, they
control others to walk through traffic.
“Even
in Arcadia we have social standings, our upper class are those with
the power of telepathy or ESP we call them hackers, because they hack
into your brain unknowing to you and there isn’t a single thing you
can do it about. Completely unaware of it, the person just does
whatever they want.”
Watching
as the brother expands his reach to
a cross guard and a bunch of
children who
walk across the street like ducks, but not
having enough
focus or strength to control
the last one, it gets stranded in
traffic. An
SUV with a video call covering half of his
screen blocks
the child from his view.
“Why
my dear brother, you are reaching too far.” Lux says curious to see
how the outcome is going to play out.
“Hardly
of any concern to me, the child stood behind a rock, substance that
our ability has yet to be able to penetrate.” Leo says in return.
Coming
close to the kid a bolt of lightening
strikes the car and sends it
flying up in
the
air as the kid stands there in awe. The
driver
completely unaware of why his SUV is
flipping upside down, he manages
to put his
coffee back into his cup and puts his hand
over it. The
SUV flies towards a dog walker
with twelve dogs on a leash, with a
single
body compulsion he thrusts the SUV away and
it lands on top of
a motorcycle which is
crushed. A slow seep of helium fuel begins
to
leak out of the tank.
“helium!
Everyone get out of there!” shouts. Everyone begins to scatter and
run as the bike ignites in a massive ball of blueish-green flames and
energy which is contained in the nick of time by man in a highly
advanced super suit. A helmet covers his face as this well built man
diminishes the explosion, resets the SUV, rebuilds the bike with his
mind and safely escorts the little girl across the street. Feeling
the presents of the twins he glances over at them and they grab their
books for school. Waving good bye to the public he flies off into the
sky.
Stepping
behind the kid is a man in a blue
suit with an ear piece, “situation
handle,
there were no casualties.” he coms in,
grabbing the young
man by the arm he pulls
him with him. “Hello Dirk, we’re going to
have a little chat.”
Shrugging
off the grip Dirk walks with the
man in the suit.
“Why
Agent Kessler of Arcadia’s finest blue
suits.” Ethan says
mockingly.
Using
his powers Kessler keeps Dirk from
going anywhere.
“ A
funny thing happened the other day, I went to see how things were
getting long with the Hendrix’s and come to find out you haven’t
been there for over a month. Anything
you care to share?”
Dirk
shrugs and tries to get up, but he
can’t
looking over at Kessler
who is using his
power to keep Dirk seated.
“Really,
you’re going to hold me against my will? Look those people didn’t
want me. Besides I can take care of myself.” Dirk says in protest.
“Boy!”
he says highly annoyed.
Taking
hold of his arm they teleport in front
of a tall academic looking
building.
“You’re
going to put me in lock up? Good, I look great in Orange.” Looking
around he sees the giant holographic sign that reads ARCADIA HIGH.
“WHAT?!
NO, I’d rather go to prison!” Dirk shouts.
“What
is with your attitude? You act like no one cares about you?”
“Yeah,
well that’s what happens when your old
man was incarcerated
for
being in Arcadia.” Dirk says in an angry
tone.
“Well
you’re half right, he was an unsanctioned superpower who also tried
to destroy the government that keeps the rest of the world from
knowing Arcadia exist. Hence why he’s in a deep state of stasis and
is never coming out.” Kessler states as they teleport next to a
front desk with a neon sign that reads ADMINISTRATION.
“Is
this him?” a direct female voice says
from behind the desk.
Out
walks a fashionable little woman who
stands about three feet tall
with orange hair
and green tinted glasses.
“Ms.
Jade, this is him.” Kessler says.
Looking
over the boy she looks up at
Kessler,
“well Agent Kessler I will do
what I can but
no promises.”
“What
do you want, man?” Dirk asks annoyed.
“I
want you to go to Arcadia High, I want you to find your power
placement and I want you bath more than once every two months. That’s
it.” Kessler says with a smirk on his face.
“If
I say you can shove that smirk.”
Suddenly
he’s slapped in the face by Ms.
Jade, not completely sure how she
did it,
but
he knows it was her.
“Watch
your language young man, your anger is very misplaced.” she says to
him putting her finger in his face.
“you
may go Agent Kessler. I will take it
from here.” Ms. Jade says.
Agent
Kesslerr motions to Dirk that he’s
going to be watching him and
then teleports.
Suddenly Dirk feels something on his wrist,
“what
the?”
“It
is a nuclear magnet with micro-holographic technology, the next
evolution in magnetism. Since you’re going to be wearing it for
quite sometime I made it somewhat fashionable for someone in your age
group. You can customize the color, texture and even it’s material.
With it’s AI capability it will change itself to match whatever
your wearing.”
“Why
do I have this?” Dirk asks.
“To
prevent any attempts of escaping.” she says with a smile on her
face. “Now come, you must shower and change orientation starts
tomorrow and there is much to do.”
Choosing
to silently protest he remains
standing next to the desk as Ms. Jade
continues to walk down the hallway. Going
through the doors she waits
on the steps for
him counting down. “Three, Two, one!”
Dirk
then smashes through the doors and
appears next to her.
While
cleaning her glasses, revealing her
orange and black glowing eyes Ms.
Jade says,
“Lets make one thing perfectly clear, Either
you move or
the bracelet will force you to
move, believe me when I say that
resistance
is utterly futile and I wouldn’t try to.”
She
then hears the crackling sound of
electricity and then Dirk groaning
in pain.
“Come.”
she says with a straight face
They
walk down the stairs and heads towards
a
black Lincoln where her
driver waits.
“This
is Mr. G, he is my employee, he’s going to help keep an eye on
you.”
“Great.”
Dirk says looking at this short stout man with pale skin but with
translucent scales.
Sitting
in the back of the car Dirk sits in
silence with a thousand questions
running
through his mind.
“He
wants to know why he has been placed in your custody?” Mr. G says
with an Irish brogue.
“Agent
Kessler called in a favor.”
The
car starts and they travel at Mach
speeds, the car then stops outside
of the
prison.
“Come.”
Ms. Jade says as she leaves the car.
Slowly
getting out of the car and stepping
onto a hill that over looks the
prison.
“tell
me what do you feel?” Ms. Jade asks.
“I
don’t feel anything.” Dirk replies.
Standing
there in silence looking out onto
the prison his expression turns
with concern
and a sense of loneliness falls over him.
“You
feel alone, like an outcast, unwanted, possibly even a bit of
resentment towards the rest of society. Good, come we must get you
clean before your stench stains the inside of my car.”
Getting
back into the car Dirk is utterly
confused about his whole situation.
“You
may think none of this makes sense now, but it will.” Says Mr. G
Once
the car starts within just a few
minutes
it stops again this time in
front of a log
cabin in the woods.
Falling
out of the car Dirk picks himself up
and looks at the log cabin.
“you
live here?”
“My
dirty boy, you of all people shouldn’t be so judgmental, as one of
many life’s lessons, it is not what’s on the outside.” She puts
her hand on the door knob which scans the print and then unlocks. The
three walk into a beautiful manor of marble floors and grand stair
cases. Walls covered in art. “but
what’s on the inside that truly
matters.”
A
subtle pause is given to Dirk in order to
soak in everything which is
then broken by
Ms. Jade’s voice.
“Come,
I give you the tour.” every room she scurries past she calls out,
“Kitchen, Dinning room, ballroom, top secret government lab and
training facility.”
“What?”
Slowly
turning around and looking at Dirk she
says “Just making sure
you’re paying
attention. You’re bedroom is up the stairs to
the
right, your closet has replicator
technology so we can set fire to
those rags
that you’re wearing now and most importantly
there’s a
bathroom, please use it as
frequently as possible. Also there are
plenty
of hygiene products for someone of your age
whose body is
possibly still going through
the many, many, many stages of puberty.
Now
if you’ll excuse me.” Ms. Jade then
disappears.
Out
of the shower Dirk looks in the mirror
and sees himself clean and it
makes him
uncomfortable. His thin torso with his ribs
showing and his
face almost sunken in. It’s
a
hard truth for him to face, but part
of him
is glad to have seen it. In his closet he
thumbs through the
infinite catalog of
clothes Ms. Jade’s voice comes in over a
speaker.
“sandwiches
in two minutes then we must begin
our first session.”
Dressed
in simple clean clothes he walks
slowly into the kitchen, but no one
is
there.
Appearing behind him Ms. Jade looks at him
curiously with
squinting eyes.
“Why
are you in the kitchen?”
“You
said sandwiches, I just assumed.”
Staring
at him highly confused she gets up
on
her tippy toes looking into his
eyes
studying
him, “You are most fascinating. Come we eat
in the
sitting room.”
As
they walk into the room, a set of
comfortable plush couches and
chairs are
seen
along with a long table that’s covered in a
sorted
arrangement of finger sandwiches,
fruit and veggie platters.
Seeing
Dirk’s eye’s light up at the sight of
all the food Ms. Jade gets
an idea.
“good,
you are hungry then I shall use that for our advantage in our first
session. The more you reveal to me, the more food you will be allowed
to eat. Come sit with me.”
“Now
what is your name?”
“Dirk
Mastersons.”
Mr.
G gives Dirk yogurt with some fruit
which
he wastes no time eating.
“What
powers did your parent’s have?”
“After
the blast my father was classified as Atomic or a nuke, my mother was
known as many things, a saint, the devine, all that stuff.”
“Interesting.”
Mr.
G brings him a piece of egg quiche which
he inhales.
“how
old are you?”
“fifteen.”
he looks over at Mr. G who is
piling on the food on his plate.
“How
did it make you feel seeing the prison?”
“what?”
“you
must be honest with yourself in order for me to understand you, tell
me what did you feel?” She says subtly persisting.
“I’m
the son of the man who destroyed the city, destroyed lives, gave
little kids cancer.”
“yes,
but how does that feel?” she says wanting his answer. “Does the
apple fall far from the tree?”
“are
you capable of being a destructive monster like your father, do you
want to destroy Arcadia, why do you hide from
yourself?” She
shouts.
Feeling
bombarded and attacked Dirk becomes
completely engulfed in his anger
and
frustration. His body begins to create
electricity.
Finally
he yells out,“I hate what I am!” An
electrical pop is heard and
all the lights
go
out.
Sitting
in the dark Ms. Jade calmly says,
“thank you that will be all.”
When
the lights turn back on Mr. G and Ms.
Jade are gone leaving Dirk with
the table of
food.
In
her study Ms Jade watches the footage of
Dirk before the black out
“Power
resentment, this could be very dangerous. The boy is suppressing his
power.
Completely unaware of his true potential.”
Looking
back at Mr. G who is in deep thought,
“What
are you thinking?” she asks.
“He
resents the same power that his father has, what about an
alternative?”
“Ahh,
impossible. Whatever he had inherited from his mother is being
suppressed by his hatred for his father.”
“And
since when does Emilia Jade run from a challenge?” he says with a
polite smirk on his face.
“you’re
intellectual behavior at times can be very surprising. FINE, I’ll
do it, but it won’t be easy.”
“I’ll
leave you to it.” Mr. G says as he leaves Ms. Jade to her work.
