The City That Heroes Built Page 6

  “The fight was mostly luck and a little process of elimination. Valor and Virtuoso had narrowed the patrol down to a certain area that hadn't been hit yet. The Sunshine Bunch were good, mostly raw power, but the New Powers had actually trained, and the Bunch was going down. Then things went wrong. The Granite Kid was covering for Radiation Jane as she was using her powers to disable Valor. Ramblin' Jack stuck with the money and wasn't willing to drop it. The Sunshine Bunch had that easy money fever back then. Apparition was doing her thing, distracting Smokey Pete, maybe it was their powers interacting, maybe Radiation Jane did something to Apparition. But Pete took a frustrated swipe at Apparition, and suddenly her big cloud shape snapped into focus. She was this freckle-faced girl, and Pete was this chubby little guy, and he had his arm buried halfway inside her. He pulled back, and his arm separated mid-bicep. Blood sprayed across Apparition and she was screaming and I could see this raw red wound in the middle of her belly where her costume should have been.

  “Valor started screaming for help and he leapt to her side. The Sunshine Bunch were looking after their own, pulling Pete away. The money was left behind. Valor flew out of there with Apparition in his arms. Sloppy Toaster's hand wouldn't stop shaking all the way to the hospital. Valor was there with her as Apparition was dying in the emergency room. When she died Valor tore out of there in a rage. Virtuoso and I spoke with the doctors about Apparition. There was an uncomfortable pause when the doctor asked for her real name. Virtuoso told them.

  “I found out about Valor and Thirteen later from the news. I wasn't surprised he was upset. Valor was a really small kid, he transformed into the Valor that went flying about with supra-strength. He had a crush on Apparition, he may have asked her out, maybe they even went on a date. There was some awkwardness there, teenage unrequited love, or whatever.

  “I wouldn't have put it together to blame Thirteen for it, honestly, if Valor hadn't gone after her. Things happen. I don't know if Thirteen had anything to do with it. The Guard had a ton of bad luck after she showed up, though.”

  That was later the same year. Three members of The Guard died in the space of a week. It began with an explosion that killed the Boy Scout in his home. Two days later Condor fell from the sky and landed on a freeway. He was hit by two cars and died before EMTs were able to arrive. Four days after that, Arcana was found dead among the burning wreckage of a motel. The team effectively ceased to exist, rumors swirled that the surviving members went underground to escape a villain with a vendetta. The surviving members of The Guard: Lady Thirteen, Firefly, Charms, and Heartbreaker disappeared, presumably retiring. Speculation about their sudden end filled our message boards. Every now and then, someone posts a new theory. I remember someone posting about the unlucky Thirteen theory, and another popular theory that Charms had never reformed and was a deep cover villain.

  Fiver had finished his story. He sat quietly, still wearing the look of someone reliving his past.

  “You have nightmares?” I asked. He came back from miles away.

  “Sometimes. Different things. I'm going to crash.”

  “Need a ride?”

  “Cal's got me. Got a room upstairs.”

  We said our goodbyes, but couldn't get an uber or cab that time of night. Cal ended up driving us back.

  “Hell of a story,” Cal said.

  “You heard it before?”

  “No. He mostly sulks quietly.”

  “Wonder why he shared it today.”

  Cal thought about it. “Probably because we were there to listen.”

  “You think he just needed to get it off his chest?”

  “I think he needed to justify what he's doing. What you said about it being dangerous, he lives there in those thoughts. He's pretty sure he's going to die doing this.”

  “So why does he do it?” Jen asked.

  “You don't go on a roller coaster for the stop at the end.”

  “What about you? You don't seem worried.”

  “I don't think about it, I don't worry about it. I just do what I have to do.”

  He dropped us off at my building. I didn't think of asking Jen if she wanted to go home. We got inside and fell asleep immediately.

  Wiki Entry: The Guard

  Boyscout- The leader and founder. He ran with Yankee Station in the 80's. Before forming the Guard, the Boy Scout made the press many times. They told stories about a kid breaking up a hippy pot-smuggling ring using a paper clip, his shoelaces, and a quarter. On another occasion, he outsmarted a villain with a magazine, a couple rubber bands and a match. His identity was presumed known by members of the press, but kept secret. The Boy Scout solved problems. He could turn anything into a tool, invent anything with everyday items. He was killed by an explosion in 2017.

  Charms was a Gulf War vet, and former supra-criminal. He was the grizzled counterpoint to the Boy Scout's youthful appearance. Charms had tokens of luck and he'd pass them out to his teammates. He and Boy Scout seemed to be best friends, maybe because they both remembered the same times.

  Glory Knight was another of the old-timers. Glory Knight was an outsider on the team, having been an independent hero. He'd joined late and despite the big bright smile, and the golden hair, never fit in with The Guard. No one was surprised when he left to join the Guardian Angels. Glory Knight was a typical brick with incredible strength. He could lift and throw a car at least 20 yards. He was not invulnerable, but was incredibly tough, allowing him to survive and recover from any wound. He did not have an apparent weakness.

  Condor was a Native American from northern California. He flew and had wings. Over six feet tall. Not as strong or tough as Glory Knight, but strong enough to carry people while flying. He fell from the sky on a clear day, plummeted like a brick and bounced on the freeway. Died the same week as the Boy Scout and Arcana.

  Firefly flew with big lightshow wings would appear when she took flight. She'd fly in close to people, blinding them while her super-heated hands would burn them. She was approximately 30 years old when she retired in June 2015.

  Arcana made everyone around her better, and when she focused on one person they became god-like. She was a short, curvy woman. Arcana was killed in a motel explosion the week The Boy Scout and Condor died.

  Heartbreaker was a tall woman with the build of like an Olympic swimmer. She was fast, strong, when she fought people they looked like they were moving through molasses compared to her. Nothing seemed to be able to stop her, and she healed any wound immediately.

  June 4, 2021

  We slept in, a huge benefit of not having jobs. Jen headed home, and I chilled. The news ran the story of police raiding a warehouse and dismantling a sex trafficking operation after a long investigation. By the afternoon, a reporter broke a story about the cops taking credit for what looked like the work of a vigilante, pointing to the lack of search warrants, and eyewitness accounts that contradicted the story. She filed FOIAs for every dash-cam and radio transmission, and claimed a source inside the police department admitted that the police were trying to exaggerate their involvement.

  I texted Jen and she said she wasn't feeling well and she was going to stay in. I ended up watching TV and going to bed. Typical Friday night for me.

  June 5, 2021

  Woke up to a text from Jen.

  Not feeling well, but hopefully okay tonight.

  Cool.

  Dinner?

  Yeah, 8?

  Okay. I'll text you.

  The vigilantes were out last night. A new guy called the Chill was chased by police after he iced up a burglar in Lompoc. Not far away from that, Moccasin dropped off a thug with outstanding warrants at a police station. Across town, Free Force captured a supra-jewel thief. Police anticipate the thief will be implicated in dozens of similar thefts.

  Fiver texted before Jen did.

  Bro, got something you're going to want to see. Serious fanboy explosion.

  Yeah?

  Meet me at Murphy's later.

  I scre
en capped and sent it to Jen.

  What do you think it is? She asked.

  No idea.

  We went by Murphy's after dinner. Fiver was talking to a guy in a Phillies hat and jeans. He waved us over.

  “Tom and Jenny,” he said. “Meet East Coast Steve.”

  “Just Jen,” said Jen.

  “Just Steve,” said Steve.

  “Steve's got something to show me, but I thought you'd want in on it.”

  “Sure,” I said.

  “It's walking distance,” Steve said. He finished his Yuengling. “Let's go.”

  We walked down empty dark streets into the warehouses of the Rail District. Normally, I'd be on edge in this neighborhood, this time of night, but I felt like I had a bodyguard. We walked for a few blocks. Steve and Fiver talked poker. Jen was a WSOP fan and she happily joined in the conversation.

  “I can't believe you know this much about poker and you haven't heard of me,” Fiver said.

  “I stopped watching when I broke up with the guy I was seeing at the time.”

  “Still.”

  “We're here,” Steve said. We went into a storage company warehouse. Individual storage units were inside. We went down a long row of locked doors. At the end, Steve produced a key to a serious lock. He opened it, and the door. We walked in. Steve turned on the lights.

  Behind the heavily used furniture, boxes of CDs and DVDs, and boxes of books, was King Scarab's armor.

  “King Scarab's armor,” Steve said. “It's not a replica. It's not the military version, either. It's a legit spare.”

  “Where'd you get this?” Fiver asked.

  “Come on,” Steve said.

  “Let me re-phrase; how do you know it's legit?”

  “It's legit.”

  “Have you tried to use it?” Jen asked.

  “It can't be used. It's supratech. It's basically a one of a kind, really heavy action figure.”

  “Unless someone can use it.”

  “Maybe another Supra,” I said.

  “Like who?” Steve asked.

  “I may be able to find an interested buyer, but I don't know any one who could use this. No one who is alive anyway,” Fiver said.

  “How'd you even get this in here?” I asked.

  “I didn't. The guy I got it from had it here.”

  “This is fifteen years old, has it been sitting here the whole time?”

  “Probably.”

  “Whoa,” Jen said. “I totally don't think you should sell it.”

  “I've got to figure out what it's worth first,” Steve said.

  “How do you do that?”

  “There's a charity auction next weekend to support the families of first responders who are killed and injured in supra battles. They're going to auction off the Catchpenny armor. Some other things as well, but I figure that's a decent comparable.”

  “It will be pretty interesting see who bids on it,” I said.

  “You want to go?” Fiver asked.

  “They close these kinds of things to the public so they don't get really big crowds.”

  “They make you wear a tuxedo, too. Look, if you make a big donation, they let you on the list.”

  “I don't have the money for a tuxedo, or a donation.”

  “I've got it, don't worry.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah.” He fished a stack of bills out of his pocket, gave me half.

  “This is like two grand.”

  “Yeah, you two buy clothes, I'll get you invites.”

  “Are we done here?” Steve asked.

  He waved us out and locked up the storage unit. We walked back to Murphy's. Steve said he had to go. Fiver invited us inside. Jen was typing on her phone as soon as we sat down. Cal brought beers.

  “The storage unit was rented seventeen years ago by a guy named Blake Dalton,” Jen said. “Paid cash in advance, for a year, then another year, and then for the next twenty.”

  “You didn't Google that,” Fiver said.

  “I got into the company database.”

  “From your phone?”

  “It's a small computer, with the right program you can do anything,” Jen said. “The address Dalton gave is fake, or at least it doesn't exist now. Probably a fake name, too.”

  The bar filled up on Saturday night. It had the right amount of low-key character that attracted people to dive bars, and resonated with the undying hipster college kid scene. The music venue across the street hosted the next amazing band, and Cal's brother, Simon, returned from the show to announce they were simply okay, despite wearing one of the band's t-shirts.

  “I thought they closed that place years ago,” I said. “I didn't realize they were open again.”

  “Yeah, everything closed about a year ago. The crime got pretty bad, property values dropped, businesses shut.”

  Jen went back to her phone while Simon detailed the concert. A commotion at the door interrupted him. The soon-to-be-famous rock stars came in to the excitement of the patrons. Their bodyguard sorted a corner booth. Fans bought them beers and shots. Groupies gathered around. Simon finished his account after interrupting himself with the story of another concert he went to.

  Cal brought a beer over for Fiver.

  “Calliope is with the band,” he said, and returned to the bar.

  Fiver didn't even glance in that direction. Jen did.

  “Yeah, it's her. And she looks super hot. Didn't you guys used to date?” she said.

  “We spent some time together,” Fiver said.

  “Did you have a bad break up?”

  “We had a misunderstanding.”

  “Come on. Tell.”

  “She thinks I cheated on her.”

  “Why would she think that if you didn't?”

  “Because I slept with her clone.”

  “Her what?”

  “Clone. Look, I didn't even know she had a clone. Apparently, there was a villain that could make an evil copy of you to make you fight yourself, while he robbed banks. For whatever reason, the clone was out there, unbeknownst to me, she came over to my place and I was none the wiser.”

  “So how did Calliope find out?”

  Fiver took a long drink to finish off his beer and another to start the beer Cal had just brought over.

  “The evil twin was much more… She was more open in bed.”

  “And you tried to do the same kinky stuff with Calliope.”

  Fiver shrugged.

  “I would pay good money to witness that conversation,” Jen grinned.

  “It was not a good night.”

  “Did you try for the butt? I'll bet you tried for the butt.”

  “I make no apologies for my behavior in private,” Fiver said.

  “Maybe you should go talk to her and see if there's a spark,” Jen suggested.

  “Forget her,” Simon said. “You need to find the clone.”

  Jen got up out of her chair.

  “Don't go talk to her,” Fiver said.

  “Relax, I'm going to the ladies'. And, I'll talk to whomever I want.” She strutted away.

  “I like how she told you to go fuck yourself just now,” Simon said to Fiver. “Where'd you meet her?”

  “She came with my information specialist here.”

  “Girlfriend?” Simon asked.

  “It's a little premature. We just got together.”

  “How'd you meet?”

  “Online. Suprahistorian forum.”

  “I have never picked up chicks on the internet,” Simon admitted. “Did you know what she looked like, or did you just get lucky?”

  “Well, the forum would meet up from time to time,” I explained. “Sometimes a big group, then a smaller group, sort of became friends. We were actually hanging out with pizza and beers, just talking about supratheories, you know, she asked me what I thought of Meyers and then kissed me.”

  “That's like the perfect pick up line,” Fiver said.

  “What is?”

  “Ask
ing a supra if she believes in Meyers, because if she does, you're pointing out that you have a natural connection and could be drawn to each other by fate.”

  “That would only help me if I was a supra.”

  “No, because there's probably a ton of supras that don't believe in Meyers, and people in general don't want to admit that we act the way we do because of chemicals in our brains. So they'll go out of their way to disprove the theory that they are unconsciously attracted to other supras by sleeping with you.”

  “I don't think there are enough supras in the world for this to be a practical way of picking up girls for me. Besides, I've got a girl to concentrate on.”

  “Does she believe in Meyers?”

  “I think he's full of shit,” she said, and kissed me.

  “No, but she's not a supra.”

  Jen came back to the table.

  “What did I miss?”

  “We were talking about Meyers,” Simon said. “Tom said you're not a believer.”

  “Not at all, are you?”

  “Yeah, makes sense to me.”

  “Do you?” she asked Fiver.

  “Yeah.”

  “Personal experience?”

  “Yep.”

  “Such as?”

  “I'm always running into supras, like a way higher rate than normal people.”

  “That could be the line of work you're in,” I said. “Or coincidence. I've been at like a dozen of supra bank robberies, I've been held hostage three times. We're in Santa Maria. This stuff just happens.”

  “Maybe. But my first week of supraheroing I was on a rooftop when Valor flies down out of nowhere and recruited me to his team. My first week. Things like that don't just happen, unless you're a supra.”

  “I mean, normal people don't hang out on rooftops looking for crime, either,” Jen said.

  “And they haven't they been able to detect the pheromone,” I said.

  “Maybe they have and we don't know about it,” Fiver said.

  “There's a science behind all the powers. You need to read The 11th Commandment.”

  “I read it, and Sofer got some things wrong. He had good theories, but this stuff is hard to prove.”