I'm Thinking of Having You Tested, Son

I'll bite (and no, that wasn't a pun on Dracula or the T-Rex). Who would win in a fight? I'd go with the T-Rex. I know people would argue that Batman would win what with his dumb gadgets and all but while I think Dracula and Batman would be able to hold their own for awhile, the T-Rex, with his mindless rage, would ultimately win.

At least that's how I do it when I get my action figures out.

Tauy Creek Digest #12: Yieldman

The bomb went off in the second car of the subway. The explosion damaged the other six cars and brought the street above crashing down into the tunnels. Moments before the explosion, Byron Martin had found a gold rod laying under one of the streets. When he picked it up, he felt a surge go through him but the feeling was short lived due to the explosion. After several minutes, still holding the rod, Byron clawed his way out of the rubble and, not wanting to have to explain how he survived or be accused of what happened, used the rod to fly out of the subway tunnel and back to his apartment.

For the next several hours, Byron holed himself away in his apartment watching the news about the subway explosion. As evening fell, the authorities had narrowed down who had initiated the attack and had their pictures and security camera footage plastered all over the television and internet. "I should do something," Byron said to himself. He looked back and forth between the television and the golden rod he found on the subway. He picked up the rod and felt the power again. But sat it back down.

As night fell, the perpetrators were making a getaway. Racing down the highway with numerous police officers in pursuit. They got out of the city and that's when Byron went into action. He changed his clothes and put on a red shirt, blue sweatpants, and a red mask to try to hide his face. He picked up the rod once again and felt its power. This time, he levitated slightly to practice taking off and landing. He then flew out the window toward the car chase happening in the outskirts of the city.

Byron swooped above the city, amazed at seeing his home from this angle. He would have to take time to do this when there weren't two terrorists trying to elude the authorities. He flew as fast as he felt comfortable. Soon, he had caught up with the police cars and very quickly was over the terrorist's car. Byron flew faster to overtake their car and found himself several miles in front of them.

Byron hovered and watched their car. He had to make sure he timed it just right and that he could actually handle what was going to happen. The car approached him on the highway and he braced himself. Byron quickly landed only a hundred feet or so in front of the car and planted his feet.

The car, unable to swerve to avoid the man now standing directly in front of them, smashed into Byron's left leg. Byron felt it but it only felt like someone had hit it with a pillow. The car didn't fare well. It was crushed from the hood to the backseat. One of the men flopped through the broken windshield onto the hood. The other was crushed between the steering wheel and the driver's seat.

The police surrounded Byron and the terrorist's car, watching in awe at what they were seeing. After making sure the car and the terrorists were stopped, a police officer ran up to the scene. "What in the world?" he asked and felt the pulses of both the terrorists. "This is Officer Douglas. We need and ambulance on Highway 287 at mile marker 165," he said into his radio. "They're still alive and breathing. You could've just picked their car up or grabbed the bumper to stop them."

"Sorry. I'm new at this," Byron said. "I also wanted to test my invulnerability."

"Okay," Officer Douglas said. "So you're a superhero?"

"Yeah," Byron looked down as his makeshift costume, as did Officer Douglas.

"Not a very good costume."

"Like I said, I'm new at this."

"Well, thanks for stopping them. We had a roadblock several miles up the highway but that wasn't a guaranteed stop. What should we call you when talking to the press?"

Byron thought for a second and looked around trying to find something that could be his superhero name. Then, off to his left, something stuck out. "Yieldman," Byron said, looking at the yield sign, illuminated by the surrounding police lights. As soon as he said it, Byron regretted it.

"Yieldman? Odd name, but I get it, I guess," Officer Douglas shrugged. "Again, thank you. You should get out of here before we feel compelled to arrest you for vigilantiism or something."

"Thank you, Officer," the newly christened Yieldman said as he floated into the air. "I hope to help you and everyone in the city as much as I can from now on." Yieldman flew off back to the city, he heard the shrieks of amazement from the other police officers. As he approached the city limits, a solumne look came over Byron's face. "Yieldman? What kind of a stupid name is that?"

Liberty #50: Supercat

The lost tomb of Ahnkamhet was located about forty miles south of Cairo. Ahnkamhet only ruled for a few years before he was mysteriously murdered. He was buried in his unfinished pyramid, which was then dismantled over the years for use in other tombs and pyramids. Only the foundation remained above ground, the tomb was below ground and forgotten.

The foundation had to be uncovered from underneath several feet of sand and Alex Turk and four other archaeologists from the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute were one of the few invited to view the mysterious tomb.

“Welcome, Mr. Turk,” a man greeted the Institute archaeologist with his arms spread apart. “It is an honor to have you here. I am Dinesh Malouf.”

“Please, the honor is ours. This is an amazing opportunity and we are thrilled that Egypt has allowed us to come in and collect heirlooms for our museum,” Alex thanked Dinesh, shaking his hand.

“Follow me. We are just about ready to open the passage to the tomb,” Dinesh led the men to where a group of Egyptian archaeologists were gathered at a wall. “We found a weak spot here so we are thinking there was an entrance here.”

“There used to be a pyramid, shouldn’t there be an entrance on top?” Alex asked.

“There is but it is filled with tons of sand. The underground entrance is easier, quicker and safer,” Dinesh said. He led Alex and his team down the makeshift stairs to the underground entrance. Above the door was a stone with hieroglyphics carved into it.

“What does that read?” Alex pointed.

Dinesh glanced up. “Ah, it reads ‘Powerful cat,’” he replied. “We actually have been saying ‘Super cat.’ It just has a better sound to it.”

“It does,” Alex agreed. “Why does it say that?”

“Based on legends, Ahnkamhet considered himself a savior, a hero and more than a god. It is said that when he was murdered, his last words were a curse that a sand monster in his image would avenge his death. From what we can tell, that never happened.”

They pushed the door open and stepped in. The underground tomb had been untouched for centuries and was unblemished. The sarcophagus was wide open in the center of the room on a decorative slab. There was several doors scattered in the tomb along the wall.

“Ready to get started?” Alex and Dinesh led their teams to the door to their left, directly behind Ahnkamhet’s sarcophagus. Again they pushed the door open to reveal what looked like a decent portion of Ahnkamhet’s fortune. Coins, challises and numerous other gold items filled the room. Personalized gold vases detailing Ahnkamhet’s life were the only thing unique in the room. Dinesh and Alex sighed and led the teams back into the main room and then started over to the next room.

One stayed in the room and slowly walked to the corner that was curiously not at a ninety-degree angle. When he got closer, he saw that the corner held another door. “There’s a door in here,” he shouted and Alex and the others came back in.

Alex looked above the door and saw the same hieroglyphics carved above this door. “Get that door open but be careful. We don’t know what’s behind it,” Alex ordered. Two men pried the door apart and they all cautiously walked in the small, triangular room. It was a plain room, no hieroglyphics, no gold, only a five foot pedestal with a bracelet on it in the middle of the room. The pedestal had hieroglyphics on it as did the bracelet. The bracelet had the same marking that the stones above the doors had.

“What does it say?” one of Alex’s team asked.

“Something about power,” Alex said. “I can’t read it very good. Dinesh?” Alex went to pick up the bracelet but then hesitated.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised about hidden rooms but it’s odd that one would be nearly empty,” Dinesh said as he approached the pedestal. Alex stepped to one side to let Dinesh read. He looked at it for a few seconds and spoke, “It says this bracelet contains the power of Supercat but it also mentions the curse and a trap.”

“Powers? Does wearing the bracelet make you the next pharaoh?” Alex chuckled.

Dinesh chuckled as well. “Try it on. It was probably just Ahnkamhet’s favorite accessory or something.”

“What does it mean about a trap?” a member of Dinesh’s team said.

“It doesn’t say. It just mentions a trap. I can’t imagine a trap in here still working after five thousand years,” Dinesh said.

Alex carefully picked up the polished gold bracelet and held it close to look at it. A rumbling began and the ceiling began cracking and pieces started crashing to the ground. Everyone looked up and then at the bracelet. Alex slid the bracelet on his wrist as the ceiling collapsed on top of them. Alex then started growing hair all over his body. His clothes changed into an Egyptian tunic and shendyt. The tunic was brown and had the hieroglyphic cat embroidered on the chest. The shendyt went down to his knees and were dyed a pale red. Alex’s hands and feet had turned into paws and he had become a six-foot-tall cat.

Using great speed, Alex tried rushing the men out of the room that was collapsing and back into the main room with the tomb. The small triangular room became nothing but rubble which was then filled with sand from above. “Is everybody all right?” Alex said as he stood over everyone. They all stared at him with their mouths slack. “This must be the powers mentioned on the pedestal,” Alex looked down at what he was wearing and his four paws.

“Powerful cat,” Dinesh said in a whisper.

“Supercat,” Alex corrected, smiling so he showed the small feline teeth. Alex took one last look at himself and took off the bracelet. He immediately changed back into his human form and his own clothes. He continued to hold onto the bracelet. “What
do we do with it?”

“I…I don’t know,” Dinesh began. “Something with this kind of power can be very
dangerous.”

“I can take it back to Chicago. We can catalog it and place it in storage. We can even just keep it in storage until we are sure everybody who knows of its existence is dead,” Alex suggested. “We can put a warning on it saying it’s very fragile and shouldn’t be worn. I don’t think anyone would slip it on but we should still attach a warning.”

“Keep it safe,” Dinesh pointed at Alex. He, Alex and the two teams headed out of the underground tomb. “There is no telling what could happen if that bracelet falls into the wrong hands.”

The teams went up the stairs into the Egyptian sun. The sand in the now-destroyed triangular room swirled around the debris despite there not being any wind.




The archaeology trip was cut short and Alex and his team headed back to Chicago. Within 48 hours, Alex had the bracelet photographed, cataloged and placed in a box in a room with thousands of other artifacts from all over the world.

“Did you get the bracelet stored away?” Alex’s assistant Jimmy asked when Alex went into his small office.

“Yes. I got it cataloged with a note saying it can’t be displayed for fifty years under an agreement with the Egyptian government and that it’s too fragile to wear. I covered all the bases so we can just put it out of our minds,” Alex said. “I wish we could’ve stayed in Egypt longer. This may have been the last time we get to take artifacts with us.”

That night, as most of the country slept, an odd creature, similar to Supercat, flew west over the Atlantic Ocean. It was similar to Supercat in every way except it was made from Egyptian sand. Alex awoke a little bit before dawn to an explosion near his apartment. He shot out of bed to a window. He could barely see as the sun was just starting to come up over the horizon but could see many buildings on fire or completely destroyed. Between the rising sun, fires and police spotlights below, Alex could vaguely make out the form. “Supercat?” he whispered. He quickly got dressed and ran downstairs to a group of police officers standing next to a spotlight. “Officers, what’s going on?”

“You should stay inside your apartment, sir,” one officer said.

“I don’t think it really matters, Blansky,” said another. “Some flying madman is destroying the city. We don’t know how to stop it. We’ve called in the military. It’s like he’s looking for something and doesn’t care what he does in the meantime.”

“Looking for something,” Alex muttered. Alex began running off toward the university, having to take detours due to police barricades and debris. “The bracelet led him to Chicago but not the actual location,” he said out loud.

The sun was just over the horizon when Alex got to the Oriental Institute. The campus hadn’t been touched but it was probably just a matter of time. Alex unlocked the staff doors and ran to storage where the bracelet was. It was still in the box and Alex sighed with relief. An explosion rocked the building and he quickly slid on the bracelet and returned to the form of Supercat.

Alex flew out of the Institute and toward the Sand Supercat. Holy God. It’s made of sand, Alex thought upon seeing his twin. Hopefully
a couple of good punches will get rid of it.

Alex prepared to punch but the Sand Supercat caught a glimpse and struck faster sending Alex flying across the sky over the city. He slowed himself and then stopped. “Or not,” and flew as fast as he could back to the Sand Supercat. He collided fist-first into the creature’s chest and they rocketed across the Chicago sky toward Lake Michigan. Maybe he’ll dissolve in the lake…

The Sand Supercat struggled to escape but Alex was flying too fast. They collided with the water about a mile from shore and Alex drove the Sand Supercat into the silt at the bottom. Alex came back up and flew back to the city. He landed next to some police officers who all pointed their guns at him when they saw he was a six foot cat. “Who are you?” one demanded.

“You can call me Supercat. Don’t worry, I’m here to help. I don’t know if that sand creature is coming back but while it’s indisposed, I can help clean up debris, rescue people, whatever needs to be done,” Alex offered.

“There’s an old tenement building that took a lot of damage over on Dearborn. I know they need help with rescues and debris,” the officer said. “We’ll be watching you.” Alex nodded and flew off to the Loop where most of the damage was.

Back in Lake Michigan, the Sand Supercat had dug its way out of the silt and shot out of the water, screaming wildly. It flew back to the city faster than it had left, honed in on Alex and drove him through several buildings and street blocks until crashing through the street into the sewer. It yelled something nearly incoherent in Alex’s face.

It wants the bracelet, Alex thought as he kept the Sand Supercat at bay by holding its wrists. Alex then overpowered it and threw it into a wall. Do I give it the bracelet or try to stop it? Can I stop it?

Alex walked over to the hole in the wall. The Sand Supercat leaped out and grabbed Alex’s neck in both hands. Alex grabbed its wrists again and tried to pull him off. Alex held onto the Sand Supercat’s arms and flew back up through the street and into the air. They flew straight up until the Sand Supercat let go of Alex’s neck and Alex attempted to throw it back down to Earth.

Instead, the Sand Supercat was able to throw Alex down and into a tenement building, causing it to start collapsing. Hearing screaming and cries, Alex quickly flew through the building helping and directing the occupants down the hall and into the street. The brick building fell down, scattering bricks into the street and alley.

“Who are you?” one of the kids Alex had just saved asked.

“You can call me Supercat. Are you all okay?”

They all nodded or muttered in agreement.

“Then I need to go stop that thing now,” Alex said and flew back into the air. He doesn’t even seem to care about me anymore. He’s now just destroying the city. Alex hovered and stared at the Sand Supercat who was smashing into buildings and tossing cars around the streets. Flames roared around Chicago. Screaming, sirens and explosions echoed through the city. As Alex witnessed the senseless destruction his eyes started to burn. Anger welled up inside him and Alex flew faster than he had this morning toward the Sand Supercat. His hand wrapped around the creature’s neck. Heat began pouring out of Alex’s eyes, hitting the Sand Supercat who began screaming.

The heat from Alex’s eyes began turning the Sand Supercat into glass and within minutes, most of the creature was glass and unable to move. Alex continued holding onto the Sand Supercat’s neck and flew over Lake Michigan where he then shattered the Sand Supercat, remnants of glass and sand falling into the lake.

Alex rushed back to Chicago where he helped put out fires and rescue people who were trapped because of the fires of the rubble. Reporters began clamoring to speak to Supercat but he instead flew off. Alex landed behind the Oriental Institute and removed the bracelet. He reverted back to his human form then proceeded to return the bracelet to the box where he put it—ready to use if he ever needed it again.

No. 41: The Last Superhero Story

1. Dr. Pharaoh

Dr. Thomas Cooke lived at the hospital. Or at least it seemed like it. With the money he made from patents, books and interviews, Dr. Cooke was able to save Cleveland Grace Hospital from shutting down. In 1939, Dr. Cooke, in an effort to save lives, created a pill that was supposed to make the body’s immune system stronger. It worked but also made the body stronger and more durable. But only for 24 hours. Cooke decided not to patent it fearing that the pill would be used for crime. Shortly after, Tom’s uncle would leave him an Egyptian scepter that amazingly granted Tom the ability to fly. Tom decided to become a hero using the scepter and pills and took the name Dr. Pharaoh. “I’m heading to lunch,” he said, setting down a clipboard at the nurse’s station. “I should be back in thirty minutes or so.”

“Okay, Dr. Cooke, we’ll hold down the fort,” one of the nurses giggled.

Tom headed to his car and as he opened the door someone behind spoke in a thick Russian accent. “Dr. Thomas Cooke?”

“Yes?” Tom responded. He turned and saw a man in red and gold armor with a gold sickle and hammer emblazoned on his chest. The man’s skin was also a deep hue of red.

“What about Dr. Pharaoh?” the red man asked.

Tom smiled. “I think you have me confused with someone else,” he tried to deflect the red man’s questions.

“That’s too bad,” the red man said. “I know you are lying,” the red man punched Tom sending him crashing through his car and across the parking lot into the brick clothing factory wall next door.

When Tom emerged from the rubble he was dressed as Dr. Pharaoh. “All right Red Scare. I don’t know how you found out my identity but I need to take you down now!” Dr. Pharaoh flew toward Red Scare and tried to hit him just as hard but only managed to knock Red Scare onto the ground.

“We all know your identities now and if we can’t bring you down then Ruin will,” Red Scare said then kicked Dr. Pharaoh in the stomach.

Dr. Pharaoh fell to his knees. “Ruin? Who is that?”

“Someone you should know very well.”

Dr. Pharaoh stood back up and clubbed Red Scare with his scepter. Dr. Pharaoh began punching Red Scare in the face. Blood and teeth spilled onto the ground. “Who is it? Who is Ruin? Who all knows our identities?” Dr. Pharaoh demanded.

“They’re already attacking your friends,” Red Scare coughed. Police began arriving and surrounded Dr. Pharaoh and Red Scare. “And when I’m in jail I will tell everyone who you are. Your life as Dr. Thomas Cooke is over and your family is dead!”

Dr. Pharaoh stared at Red Scare who quickly caught Dr. Pharaoh off-guard and brought him down to the ground. Red Scare began beating Dr. Pharaoh, cracking his helmet. Dr. Pharaoh dropped his scepter and couldn’t get his wits about him to land a blow.

Finally, Dr. Pharaoh lifted his leg and kicked Red Scare hard in the groin. Stunned, surprised but not necessarily hurt, Red Scare stumbled backward. Dr. Pharaoh got up and clubbed him in the head with his scepter, blood pooled out of his ear and skull. Red Scare fell down and Dr. Pharaoh hit him again in the back of the head. Red Scare was not moving but was breathing shallowly. Dr. Pharaoh raised his specter again.

“Dr. Pharaoh! That’s enough!” a police called. “We’ll take it from here.”

Dr. Pharaoh lowered his specter and looked at the policeman and the crowd of people that had gathered. “Sorry, officer,” he faked a chuckle. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get to Centropolis,” and Dr. Pharaoh took off into the air.

2. Lightning

Maxwell Simpson was a test subject for now-deceased Professor Herman Moytner’s human cloning experiment. Professor Moytner’s invention would supposedly break down a person’s electrons and duplicate them and restore them. Max was chosen as the first test subject and while the machine did break down Max’s electrons, it also charged them and turned him into pure electricity. Professor Moytner, in an effort to save Max, created a containment suit. The suit allowed Max to fly and instantly transport himself but also control his new powers and keep his human form.

Max was now working a desk job for the Oklahoma City Police Department. He was currently trying to get some paperwork done that was left on his desk. Another officer approached the desk and sat down a box. “Package for you.”

“Thanks,” Max began opening the package without looking up. “Who’s it from?” he asked, noticing there wasn’t any labels on the box. Max opened the box and a pie flew up and hit him in the face.

“HAHAHAHAHA HOHOHOHOHOHOHO HEEHEEHEEHEE!!” the man who delivered the package giggled. The man doffed the policeman’s uniform.

“Jokester!” Max shot up from his chair. “Jokester, you are under arrest for…”

“10…9…8…” Jokester began counting down.

“What are you doing?” Max asked.

“That’s exploding pie cream. Didn’t I mention that?” Jokester bit his lip and then smiled. “4…3…2…”

As the frosting in the box, the desk and Max’s face exploded, Max turned into Lightning, avoiding being blown up. He had also brought Jokester with him and he was unharmed as well.

“That’s who I wanted to see,” Jokester giggled. “The incredible Lightning!”

“How did you know?” Lightning asked.

“A little bird told me,” Jokester said and pulled a rubber duck out from under his jacket and squirted Lightning with water.”And we know all of your identities. Tom, Vivian, Lester…” Jokester named off the first names of Dr. Pharaoh, Golden Flame and Radio Man.

“Who told you?”

“Someone you know who knows all your dirty little secrets,” Jokester grinned.

Lightning phased a part of his finger into Jokester’s shoulder causing him to wince in pain. “Tell me who or I will rip out your spine through your chest,” Lightning threatened.

“You wouldn’t do that,” Jokester pouted. “If you do, Little Max dies.”

“Maxie?” Lightning was taken aback.

“Yes,” Jokester smiled. “You kill me and you’ll never know where Maxie is and he’ll die. Isn’t this fun?”

“Where is he?” Lightning screamed.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” Jokester faked a yawn.

“You will tell me now or so help me God…” Lightning raised a fist and electricity crackled from his eyes.

“That’s a clue you idiot,” Jokester scowled. “’I’ll tell you tomorrow.’”

Lightning thought for a moment. “Tomorrow. Tomorrow Man…Tomorrow Man’s grave?” Lightning asked.

“Why don’t you find out?” Jokester replied. And in a flash they were gone.

Tomorrow Man was a now-deceased member who was killed in 1946 protecting New Orleans from a monster called Ripper. His powers came from a gauntlet left to him from a man from the 22nd Century. He was buried in a modest grave in a New Orleans cemetery.

It had been years since Lightning had been here. Lightning and Jokester flashed into existence in front of Tomorrow Man—Adam Ditko’s grave. There was fresh, overturned dirt covering it.

“You sadistic son of a bitch,” Lightning snarled as he used his electromagnetic powers to lift and move the dirt and lift up the casket. He opened the casket and saw Maxie bawling and cowering with the remains of Tomorrow Man. Lightning pulled Maxie out and hugged him. “You’re okay, Maxie. You’re all right…”

3. Golden Flame

Vivian Cassell hated her job. She felt it was demeaning not only to all women but especially herself. She was a receptionist in a prestigious law firm in Missoula, Montana. She was unsure where her powers had come from and at first they made her seem like a freak but after she figured out how to use them, she became Golden Flame.

She was working at her desk, as she does everyday around this time, when her cubicle mate saw something out the window. “What is that?” she stood up and pointed at something out of the window on the street. “Viv, come look at this!”

Vivian slowly got up and went to the window and saw a woman with long silver hair walking down the street in front of the office building. “Oh my God. That’s Shrieker,” Vivian said.

“The Society of Seven villain?”

“Yes,” Vivian nodded. “I’ll be right back.” Vivian left the office and ran down the back stairs. When she emerged on the ground floor in the alley, she was in her Golden Flame uniform. She flew to Shrieker and took her arm. “What are you doing? I thought we reformed you.”

“I was reformed. Until I was approached by Ruin. He convinced me that I was better off as a criminal and gave me the information to bring down the Society of Seven…Vivian,” Shrieker smiled when Golden Flame gasped at hearing her real name.

“This Ruin person told you our secret identities?” Golden Flame asked quietly.

“Ruin told me everything and if I were him, I would’ve destroyed you years ago!” Shrieker yelled then began screaming in a piercing tone. Everyone on the street covered their ears as did Golden Flame. Windows cracked and people fell to their knees.

Golden Flame removed a hand from an ear and shot a flame at Shrieker. “Stop it!” she screamed. The flame hit Shrieker in the face causing her to scream louder but more in pain. “Oh God! I’m sorry! I meant to hit your chest!”

When the fire and smoke cleared, Shrieker’s face was red and pockmarked with burn wounds. “You just made a huge mistake, Vivian!” Shrieker screamed louder. Windows shattered, people fell to the ground in agony and Golden Flame went with them.

Flames began erupted from Golden Flame. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Please…stop…” she said through gritted teeth. “Stop…screaming!” Flames roared from Golden Flame’s back and engulfed Shrieker whose scream grew louder and then start to die until she grew silent and fell down. “What the…?” Golden Flame stood up and looked at Shrieker’s charred body.

“You killed her,” someone said.

“I didn’t…I didn’t know I could do that…I…I need to get to Centropolis to figure out what’s going on,” Golden Flame flew into the air and toward Centropolis as police arrived to take care of Shrieker’s body.

4. Catman

Catman stood atop the Anderson Building in Downtown Centropolis, Kansas in the pouring rain. He watched the traffic fifty-two stories below. Fifteen years ago, Dwight Summers found his wife and children murdered. The murderer was never found. Dwight tried to continue his life but after a year, Dwight Summers disappeared. When he returned he was a highly skilled fighter and acrobat. Do to his agility and the costume he made, Dwight took the name Catman and became a champion of justice.

“Dwight Summers,” someone said behind Catman.

Catman slowly turned around and saw a skeleton wearing a suit standing with him on the roof. “Dr. Bones,” Catman grumbled.

Dr. Bones, then Dr. Nieder, was Catman’s first villain. In an effort to better fund his scientific advances he turned to crime and while fighting Catman, fell into a vat of acid, searing off his skin and muscles. Catman always wanted to know how his body worked and how he was still alive but always felt asking would be inappropriate. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Catman. Or do you prefer Dwight?”

“When in my costume I prefer Catman,” Catman replied.

“Don’t you want to know how I learned your real name?”

“You’re a smart guy. You’d probably figure it out sooner or later,” Catman shrugged.

“I thank you for the compliment, Catman but someone told me yours and the rest of the Society’s identities. His name is Ruin and he knows quite a lot about the Society. Both good and bad,” Bones said.

“Ruin? Who is he?”

“I promised I wouldn’t reveal the surprise but you are also a smart guy. You could probably figure it out.”

“So are we going to fight or just wax poetic?” Catman asked.

“I figured we’d just wax,” Bones said. “Since this will be the last time our paths cross and I believe after fifteen years of playing cat and mouse we’ve developed some form of mutual respect, I thought we’d just stand here and look out over the city we love.”

“I can do that,” Catman smiled slightly. They stood at the edge of the building and looked out at the city and down at the traffic. Catman then heard a commotion down on the street. “A guy down there is shooting at people.”

“Go. Do what you do best,” Dr. Bones said.

Catman leapt off the building and toward an alley where a man had just shot three black men. “What the hell…?” Catman questioned as he landed in front of the man.

“They used to know their place,” the man said. “We’ve been too lenient on them. Not anymore.”

“You can’t do that. They’re people, too.”

“No, they’re not. They are property. They are animals. They are slaves. They are not people. And that you are defending them means you also need to be stopped,” a flurry a bullets went off and Catman dodged each of them with relative ease. “Your fancy footwork won’t save you,” the man said but Catman interrupted him by hitting the man square in the face. A loud crunch echoed in the alleyway and blood began pouring from his nose. The man fell to his knees.

“One hit,” Catman said. “I stopped you with one hit.”

“You broke my nose!” the man cried. Catman took the man’s gun as two police cars blocked the alley.

“Get up and stop crying before the police see you,” Catman said.

5. Time Man

Time Man landed without a sound on the balcony of his apartment in downtown Chicago. As he slid open the glass door he noticed it was completely dark. His wife usually left a lamp on for him but right now that lamp was off. Time Man entered his apartment and cautiously stepped toward the lamp that was usually on next to the couch.

He clicked it on and saw his wife and daughters tied to chairs against the wall. Chains covered the floor and led to a man dressed in black holding the chains. “Glad you could join us. I was starting to get impatient.”

“Let them go, Master Key!” Time Man demanded. “This doesn’t concern them.”

“But it does, Mr. Banner. You chose to be a hero therefore you opened yourself up to all types of crazy people tracking you down,” Master Key said.

“How did you learn my secret identity?”

“You’ll find out,” Master Key smiled beneath his mask. “Now what should we do about your family?”

“Let them go,” Time Man said without any hesitation.

“But if I do that then there won’t be an element of surprise when we fight,” Master Key said.

“Enough talk, Key,” Time Man leapt up and struck Master Key in the jaw. “You made this personal so the gloves are off!”

The chains removed themselves from the Banner family and crawled to Time Man who was now standing over Master Key. The chains wrapped themselves around Time Man and pulled him down to the ground.

“The chains obey me, Time Man. With only a thought these chains could shatter your legs.” And, as if to prove it, the chains tightened.

Time Man reached for the sundial on his left wrist and pressed a button. Master Key, his family and the chains suddenly slowed down to a near stop. Michael Banner had been given the sundial by an Ancient Roman superhero named Centurion. The dial granted the wearer powers and the ability to slow down time. The dial also had the capability to remove the wearer from time rendering him invisible but there was a time limit on that. Exceed that time and your physical body would be permanently removed; however you would still be remembered so in reality you would just disappear.

Time Man, still in real time, fought off the chains and removed them then quickly helped his family out of the apartment. He then ran over to Master Key and punched him again, this time on the side of the head.

Master Key began slowly flying backwards and Time Man restored time. Master Key flew back, stumbled and slammed into the wall, sinking to the floor. “Give up?” Time Man asked. Master Key was barely conscious and all the chains were limp.

Beneath his mask, Master Key smiled. He pulled a small bauble from a compartment on his belt and pressed a button it. Time Man quickly pressed a button on his sundial as the apartment and most of the floor exploded.

No longer in the time stream, Time Man safely walked through the explosion and flew down to the street where his family was waiting. He returned himself to reality and hugged his wife and kids as sirens approached.

6. Mr. Amazing

Theodore Harris led a group of schoolchildren, teachers, parents and other people through his massive lab. At the end there was a question and answer segment before Ted showed his guests to the door. One man stayed behind, dressed in a long tan overcoat and red baseball cap. The visor of the cap was pulled down, hiding his face.

“I have a question,” the man said.

“All right, but just a quick one,” said Ted. “I have to get back to work.”

“What would you say is your biggest mistake?” the man asked.

“I have a couple. One is not curing Roosevelt’s paralysis before he died. He tasked me with that and I put it on the back burner erroneously thinking he would be around longer. The other is participating in the Supreme-Solider Program. Nothing good came out of that,” Ted paused and sighed. “If that is all, I must return…”

“So destroying your best friend’s body doesn’t make the list?” the man asked.

“Best friend’s…Oh! You mean Steve Watson. That was…unfortunate but not a mistake. There was no way I could’ve foreseen Watson going insane. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

“You’re so high and mighty aren’t you? All the good that you’ve done outweighs all the bad that you’ve done. The ’39 World’s Fair, Titusville, Florida, Nevada Street fire are all just mistakes. Mistakes like me!” the man removed his coat and hat to reveal himself half made out of machine.

“Watson!” Ted exclaimed. “I tried to save you after the lab accident. I also thought it would benefit mankind if I could figure out a way to replace body parts and organs with robotics.”

“So you used me as a guinea pig? Without my consent you ripped my tattered skin off. You removed the stumps of my arm and leg. You removed my eye and severed my spine. All because you wanted to save me? Look at me! I am more machine than human! You should’ve just let me die!”

Ted was silent.

“Ruin has plans to destroy the others—Lester, Vivian, Harold—but I demanded that be the one to destroy you. Like you’ve destroyed me!”

A red laser beam shot out of Watson’s left eye and toward Ted. Ted easily dodged it. “Who’s Ruin? And how do you know the Society’s secret identities?”

“Ruin told us,” Watson was able to hit Ted in the jaw causing him to stumble.

“How does Ruin know?”

“He was once one of you but you—all of you—turned your backs on him. Forgot about him!” Watson stood over Ted and hit him in the face twice. “You are no better than the criminals you’ve sent to jail. You think that just because you have powers and costumes like Superman, Batman and other comic book characters that you are better than everyone else. That you are more important…!”

Ted was finally able to raise a leg and kick Watson across the lab and into a metal cabinet. Ted walked over to Watson. “You’re right. We’re not like Superman and Batman because we are real people and we make mistakes. We aren’t perfect, Watson. I am the first person to admit that…”

“Since when?” Watson laughed. “In the years I worked with you, you never admitted to a mistake! If something went wrong you blamed an assistant or what you were working on. It was never your fault!” Watson stood up and ran to a large electrical generator. “I will steal the energy from this generator and I will destroy you!”

The energy from the generator began circulating around Watson. He began growing bigger but Ted couldn’t approach him because of all the electricity. “Watson! You don’t know what you are doing! All that energy will kill you!”

“And you too!”

Moments before the generator became empty, power began flowing back in and Watson emitted a painful scream. Ted called for his flying discs which carried him away from the generator and outside the building just as it exploded.

“All my projects…works in progress…gone…All gone…” Ted said looking back at the smoldering rubble that was once his lab. He walked into the destruction to where the generator once stood. He saw the skeletal remains—half bone, half metal—of Watson. Ted sighed and shook his head. “Should’ve left you alone…”

7. Radio Man

The robot was at least seven stories tall and had destroyed most of Old Downtown Centropolis. Radio Man was having trouble getting an upper-hand on the robot and was doing what he could to keep the robot at bay.

Have to find a way to knock this thing down, Radio Man thought as he flew at the robot with full force. With a swipe of the hand, the robot knocked Radio Man from the air and into a building. “I also need to figure out a way to keep him from destroying any more of the city,” he said out loud.

Radio Man flew down to the street and plowed through the street into the sewer. Radio Man was sent to Earth from a distant planet in the 1830s and was secretly raised by slaves until he turned 15 when his powers started developing. He was then cast out for being the son of a devil. He then travelled the country secretly using his powers to help people. When the Civil War broke out in 1861 he helped both sides. After the war, at age 28, although he looked 18, he decided to settle down and married a woman he met during the war. She died in 1871 giving birth to his son, who died soon after.

Once again he bounced around the country until 1907 at age 70, although he looked 30, he killed his original identity and created Lester Pflumm, and settled in Centropolis, Kansas, and went to school. In 1938, he created the identity of Radio Man and has been protecting Centropolis and the country ever since.

Radio Man burrowed up through the sewers and under the robot’s foot causing it to topple to the street. “Now to find out who’s controlling this thing,” Radio Man said and began tearing the robot apart revealing the shriveled body of Montgomery Redpath, a long-time rival of Radio Man.

“Redpath!” Radio Man was stunned. “I thought you were near death!”

I am, you imbecile, Redpath thought. You may have stopped me but Ruin will stop you. “Les…” Redpath struggled to speak. “Lester…Pflu…uhh…”

My name, Radio Man grabbed Redpath. “How do you know my name?”

“Ru…Ruin…” Redpath managed to say then went silent and limp.




Radio Man flew to the Society’s headquarters on Wyoming Avenue and saw that the other six were already there. “What’s going on?”

“We were all attacked by old villains who now know our secret identity,” Catman said.

“So was I, Montgomery Redpath attacked me in a giant robot suit. The man was near death. He’s in a coma now,” Radio Man said.

“Did he mention anything?” Time Man asked. “Because all of ours all mentioned someone named Ruin.”

“Redpath did mention Ruin. In his condition he was only able to say my name and Ruin’s,” Radio Man said.

“So Ruin is the common factor,” Dr. Pharaoh said. “It appears Ruin has discovered our secret identities and told our archenemies. The question remains, how Ruin learn them?”

“I didn’t,” said a voice. “You all openly told them to me. The fact you don’t remember speaks loudly about your self-centeredness.” A figure stepped out from the shadows in a dark black uniform with a hood and tattered green cloak.

“How did you get in here?”

“You gave me the security code years ago and apparently couldn’t be bothered to change it in seven years.”

“Are you Ruin?” Golden Flame asked.

“I am.”

“You said that we told you our identities,” Mr. Amazing said. “Who are you?”

“Do you remember Tomorrow Boy?”

8. Ruin

“In 1940, after my parents were killed, I was taken under the wing of Paul Wellington III who became Tomorrow Man after acquiring gauntlets from a time travelling bounty hunter. I was ecstatic that not only did I not have to be placed in foster care but I was going to be hanging out with a superhero. He even trained me in various form of combat and I was hoping that if the time ever came, I would take up the mantle of Tomorrow Man. I took the name Tomorrow Boy and he presented me with a costume. I was so happy I almost cried. Then Paul kissed me.

“It felt strange. I was only eleven so I was very confused but what else was I going to do? If I told him no he might have thrown me out on the street. He pressed himself against me and I could feel how hard he was. He made me suck him off. When I turned twelve is when we started making love. It never felt right and when I was older, since I now thought I was gay I only dated men and it never felt right being with them so I would always head straight for having sex which would also never feel right but they all got what they wanted. An ignorant young man willing to bend over and be taken advantage of.

“And Harold, Dwight, Ted, he told you what he was doing. He bragged to you about it and you all just laughed it off. And then Paul was killed in 1946. I was sixteen and was hoping I would be the next Tomorrow Man but I was forgotten about. The name was retired and Paul left me nothing. I was turned over to the state for the next two years and when I turned eighteen I couldn’t get a job. Meanwhile, you kept being glorified both as heroes and as regular people so I promised myself, I vowed, to destroy you!”

Dr. Pharaoh raised his scepter and shot an energy blast at Ruin who was able to absorb the blast and redirect it back to Dr. Pharaoh, striking him and knocking him down.

“Society! Attack!” Radio Man shouted and the six still standing launched themselves at Ruin.

“You’re wasting your time. I know all of you. I’ve studied you extensively. I know your weaknesses,” Ruin easily slapped away Mr. Amazing and Time Man, electrocuted Catman and was able to dodge a punch from Radio Man. Lightning and Golden Flame attempted to come at Ruin from the sides. He was able to knock out Golden Flame and deflect Lightning’s bolt, striking Radio Man. “You were supposed to protect the innocent and weak but instead you stood idly by while a young boy was constantly molested and raped and that,” Ruin began blasting around the headquarters, turning it into an inferno, “isn’t what heroes do!”

“Time Man! Slow down time!” Radio Man shouted from somewhere in the flames. “Pharaoh, get Catman and Mr. Amazing out of here! Lightning, Golden Flame, you know what to do!”

Golden Flame absorbed some of the fire and created a massive ball. Lighting turned himself into pure energy and allowed himself to be absorbed. “What’s going on?” Ruin asked.

The fire and lightning ball struck Ruin causing a massive explosion that destroyed the building, shattering surrounding windows and sending everyone to the street below. Radio Man grabbed Ruin from behind and began putting pressure on his neck.

“This isn’t over, Lester! You can’t stop me! I will kill all of you and your families! I…”

After the crack, everything seemed to grow silent. “You…killed him,” Golden Flame said.

“Makes sense to me,” Catman said.

“I had to. We couldn’t stop him. He would’ve kept coming back…” Radio Man panted.

“But you always…” Radio Man interrupted Mr. Amazing.

“I know what I said about killing. I will live with this everyday for the rest of my life. And since I was born in 1830s I have a lot of time to deal with this,” he sighed. “Let’s clean this up. I’ll get Ruin out of here.”

Epilogue

“You six are charged with Communist conspiracies and treason,” Judge Resson said, addressing the six heroes in the courtroom, all dressed in their uniforms. “But you claim that you have reached a deal with the United States?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Radio Man said. “The United States originally wanted us to reveal our identities and we could continue fighting crimes as our alter egos. We have talked them into keeping our identities secret and give up crime fighting.”

“And this is a choice that all six of you have reached?” Judge Resson asked.

“No. Catman and Time Man have decided to reveal their identities and continue doing what they love.”

“Is this correct, Mr. Catman and Mr. Time Man?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” they said in unison.

“Are the People satisfied?” Judge Resson looked over to the counsel for the United States, Henry Pipken.

“Yes, Your Honor,” Pipken responded.

“Then so be it. Catman and Time Man will reveal their identities to the federal government and continue fighting crime. Radio Man, Golden Flame, Dr. Pharaoh and Lightning are hereby retired and, for lack of a better word, out of business,” Judge Resson pounded his gavel and the people in the courtroom started to disperse. Catman and Time Man went off with Pipken while the other four looked at each other and then left the courtroom with the rest of the crowd.




Eleven years later…
Lester, Vivian, Max, Ted and Tom remained in the cemetery after the funeral was over. They looked at Dwight’s tombstone and the fresh mound of dirt now covering his coffin. It had been twelve years since their battle with Ruin and eleven years since the Society disbanded.

“I should’ve helped him,” Lester said.

“And wind up in prison? Dwight knew what he was getting into fighting that lunatic,” Ted said. “Especially after going on a lack of sleep. At least Dwight died doing what he loved.”

“Unlike Harold,” Vivian sighed loudly.

A couple years ago, Harold decided to retire from being Time Man. A career criminal, in jail several times for carjacking, assault and public nuisance, broke into the Banner household and slit the throats of Harold, his wife and three children before turning himself in. The reason he gave as to why he did it was “I didn’t want anyone else in his family to become a new Time Man.”

“Didn’t even get to enjoy his first week of retirement,” Max shook his head.

“It was nice seeing you all again,” Tom said. “Maybe next time it will be under happier circumstances.”

The five heroes parted ways and left the cemetery.

No. 33: Superkitten

One

Alix Kincaid staggered into her apartment on Essex Street in New York City. As she walked down the hall, she removed her shoes, pants and belly shirt, leaving them in a trail down the hall. She grabbed an oversized t-shirt in her room and put it on then collapsed on her bed. She had just fallen asleep when the alarm went off. She ignored it and let it beep.

“Alix! Can’t you hear that?” her mom shouted from the doorway. “You need to get up. You’re not missing school again!”

Alix slowly rose from the bed and stood up. She turned her back to her mother and removed her shirt, grabbing another one from the floor.


“You should really wear a bra,” her mother said.


“My boobs, my rules,” Alix said.


“What time did you get home last night?”

“I didn’t notice. Late.”

“What were you doing out so late?”

“Mom,” Alix looked straight at her mother’s eyes. “I’m not gonna lie to you. What’s for breakfast?” Alix walked past her mom and back down the hall where her clothes were still laying.

“Don’t avoid the question, Alix!” her mom shouted.

“Why does it matter where I was? Nothing bad happened and I came home.”

“It matters because no matter what you think I care about you and love you. I am your mother!”


“I know. You keep reminding me,” Alix rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing to eat here. Can I have a couple bucks to buy breakfast?” she asked, eyeing her mom’s purse.

“I guess. But just take the five. I want you to come right home after school, okay? I’ll make a good dinner and we can talk.”


“Talk? About what?”

“Just talk. We never talk anymore…” she brushed Alix’s short blonde hair from her eyes.

“We never talked before,” Alix interrupted.

“Regardless. Right after school.”








“So I’m beginning to think those pills Paolo gave us last night were fake,” Traci said, standing outside the stall in the girl’s bathroom at school. “I mean, I started coming down pretty quickly after I took them and normally I get a pretty good buzz going that lasts. Last night I just didn’t feel it as much as I usually do. Jesus, what are you doing in there?”

Alix wiped and stood up to pull up her pants. “They were real Traci, I can vouch for Paolo. Also,” she opened the door to the stall, “what the hell would I be doing in here?”

“I dunno. I’ve seen a lot of things happening in a bathroom,” Traci shrugged.


“Come on. Let’s go outside. I need a smoke.”








Outside, Alix and Traci sat on the basketball court watching some boys play basketball. Alix was slowly smoking her cigarette. “My mom wants to ‘talk’ when I get home. She wants to make a nice dinner and have a mother-daughter conversation,” Alix said.

“How dare she,” Traci said.

“It could be worse,” Alix said, exhaling smoke. “She could want to take me to the mall.”

The girls stood up and began walking back to the school. A basketball flew through the air and hit Alix on the side of the head.”


“Ow!” she screamed.


“Nice catch,” said one of the boys.

“That hurt, Diego!” Alix yelled angrily.

“Not like there’s anything up there to hurt,” Diego scoffed. A couple of his friends chuckled.

“Look Traci,” Alix held up the basketball, “we now have proof that Diego has at least one ball.”

Diego got in Alix’s face and smirked. “I didn’t hear you complaining a couple weeks ago.”

Alix took one last drag on her cigarette and threw it down. “I didn’t have to complain. The bored look on my face said it all.” And she exhaled the smoke in Diego’s face.

Diego stared at Alix as she smiled at him. “Bitch!” he said as he slapped her across the face. Diego turned around. “Come on, guys. Let’s go in.”

Alix felt the warm area where Diego slapped her and got angrier with every passing second. Traci walked over to her and held her. Alix began screaming and running toward Diego. She then punched Diego square in the back. Traci shuddered at the sound of the crack. Diego fell to the ground. Traci saw what had happened and began screaming.

Alix noticed what she did and began crying. She saw a couple of teachers and security officers running toward her. Alix began panicking and ran away in the other direction.

Two

Traci walked down the street after school. She had barely stopped crying since this morning. While she was walking past an alley, a hand flew out and grabbed her. She began screaming but another hand covered her mouth.

“Quiet. I don’t want anyone to know where I am,” Alix said.

“Alix!” Traci fumed. “You scared me to death!”

“Sorry. How was school?” she asked.

“You shouldn’t have left. The police are looking for you,” Traci said.

“I know,” Alix sighed. “I killed him.”

“I know. I was there. Are you gonna turn yourself in?”

“Of course not. I’m gonna wait until it dies down and then I’m leaving town.”

“Running away? Why? I was there. I gave a statement. The teachers and principal don’t like Diego and the police honestly don’t seem too keen on avenging his death,” Traci said. “To them it’s just another dead gang member.”

“I’m still gonna wait until things cool down,” Alix said. “I need a place to stay.”

“You can’t stay with me. It’s crowded and the police will probably find you. You could probably stay with my brother. He lives alone so he may let you stay a night or two. He lives a couple blocks from here,” Traci offered.

“Okay,” Alix nodded.

Traci knocked on the door to Nick’s apartment. He opened the door with a phone pressed against his car. He motioned for them to come in. “Yeah. No, I’ll need proof of the money first. I know but after last time I’m changing the rules. All right, call me back in half an hour,” Nick hung up. “Hey, Trace, what’s up?”

“Hi, Nick. Alix needs a place to stay. Something bad happened at school. Can she stay here?” Traci asked.

Nick shrugged. “I guess. She’ll either have to sleep on the couch or the floor because I only have my mattress.”

“That’s fine,” Alix said.

“Great. Thank, Nick. I gotta get home, Alix. I hope I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” Traci hugged Alix and left Nick’s apartment.

Alix and Nick looked at each other. “Thanks for letting me stay here.”

“How are you going to pay rent?” he asked.

“Oh. Um, well, I have no money but I can do chores or…”

Nick unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down. “One for each day you’re here.”

Alix sighed, stepped forward and got down on her knees.








“So if Alix comes home, tell her that charges are not going to be pressed but we do want her to give us a statement,” the police officer said as he and Alix’s mom walked to the door.

“Thank you, officer. I’m sure Alix will be relieved.”

“Have a good evening, ma’am,” the officer said and left.

Alix’s mom closed the door and went into the kitchen. Her dinner was almost finished and the table set. She sat down at the table and sighed. “Damn it, Alix.”

There was a knock on the door and she got up to answer it. She opened the door and saw a young kid standing in the hallway.

She smiled. “Yes?”

He pulled out a gun from his jacket and began shooting at her. Three shot were fired. One hit her leg, the other hit her shoulder and the last one went through her stomach and out her back. She fell to the ground, the kid ran away. Blood poured out of her wounds and pooled beneath her.

Alix ran into the hospital and into her mom’s room in the intensive care unit. She was sobbing and having a hard time catching her breath. “Oh, mom! I’m so sorry. That should’ve been me! I should’ve came right home. I am so, so sorry. You’ll never forgive me this and you shouldn’t have to. I am so sorry, Mom. I love you…” she cried on her Mom for several minutes until a nurse escorted her out.

Half an hour later, Alix was standing on the roof of Nick’s building. It was windier and slightly colder up there but Alix didn’t feel it. She looked out over the city, still crying. She thought about the last couple of days, and walked, half mesmorized, to the edge of the building and defiantly looked down.

“I’ll see you soon, Daddy,” she said and prepared to step off the edge.

“I wouldn’t do that,” said a voice behind her.

Alix turned to see who it was. “What?”

“Please come down. I have a question to ask you,” said the man.

Alix reluctantly got down and took a step toward the man. “Okay. I’m down. What do you want?”

“I’m here to give you the opportunity of a lifetime. My name is Dmitri Sylvester and I am the director of a covert government team. We’ve been watching you for quite awhile, Miss Kincaid and think you would fit nicely with our team,” the man explained.

Alix eyed him suspiciously. “Why do you think I would fit in?” she asked.

“Well, aside from your lack of agoraphobia,” Dmitri chuckled, “you have a special power a lot of other people lack.”

“Like what?”

“How do you think you really snapped that boy’s spine?” he asked.

“Oh, geez. You saw that?”

“I told you we’ve been watching you,” Dmitri said. “Anyway, the average hit to the middle of the back will hurt, may bring someone down but will not paralyze or kill a person. You, however, used your power—a force field around your body that strengthens every punch and kick when you want it to.”

“So I’m some kind of freak?” Alix asked.

“Of course not. With the right training and motivation you could be a hero.”

Alix smiled at that. She thought for a moment and shrugged. “What have I got to lose?” she joined Dmitri and they started walking back to the stairway door. “What about my Mom?”

“She’ll be fine. The government will pay for her care. You or her won’t have to worry about anything.”

Three

Alix, as her new identity of Superkitten, stood atop a warehouse with Geo-Whiz, an older boy with a red and black skintight uniform and a billowing black and white cape. Superkitten kept looking over at Geo-Whiz and then, finally, giggled.

“What’s up?” Geo-Whiz asked, not taking his eyes off the building across the street.

“Why are you wearing a cape?” Superkitten asked.


“I think capes look cool. All the cool superheroes wear capes. Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel. Magneto wears a cape,” Geo-Whiz explained.

“Okay. On a scale of one to ten, how much of a dork are you?” she laughed.

“Very funny,” Geo-Whiz smiled. He then extended his gloved hand toward her. “I’m Brandon Taggert.”

She accepted his hand and smiled. “Alix Kincaid. What’s your story?”

“I graduated college at 13 and you’d be surprised at how many companies are not willing to hire a 13-year-old—labor laws and all. So at 14, I began a series of low wage jobs and then when I was 18, companies still wouldn’t hire me. I found out around that time I had geokinesis but I hardly used it and kept it to myself. I was working a dead end customer service job when Dmitri approached me and offered this to me,” Geo-Whiz said. “You?”


“I killed someone,” Superkitten smiled. “I hit bottom. I was about to kill myself when Dmitri arrived.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. How’d you choose your name?” asked Geo-Whiz.

“Superkitten? My Dad always called me Kitten. I added the Super because of the powers. How about you? I mean, come on, Geo-Whiz?”

“Whiz because I’m smart and Geo because of my geokinesis can control and manipulate the Earth.”

“We got movement down there,” Superkitten pointed. She prepared to leap off the building.

“Wait. Those aren’t Taikon’s normal henchmen…” Geo-Whiz hushed. He watched and listened as one of the people unlocked the warehouse door. “Oh my God!” Geo-Whiz focused his hands toward the ground and the concrete and dirt lifted the two people up into the air just as the entire warehouse exploded and became engulfed in flames.

Geo-Whiz and Superkitten protected the two people from the flames and led them away from the edge of the building.

“Are you okay?” Superkitten asked.

“Yeah, shaken—a couple of burns but we’re alive,” one of the people said. The people were a man and a woman, early twenties.

“What were you doing at that warehouse?” Geo-Whiz asked.

“Some guy down the street gave us ten thousand dollars in cash and a key and told us to unlock the warehouse door,” the man said.

“I’m gonna see if I can find any trace of him,” Geo-Whiz took off toward the street. “You help them off the roof.”

Superkitten and Geo-Whiz reunited several minutes later. “Taikon is trying to say something. He knows we’re onto him,” Geo-Whiz pressed a button on his gauntlet. “Dmitri? The warehouse was blown up.”

“We’re actually getting something from Taikon’s signal,” Dmitri said. “It’s coming from Merrittstown—a suburb. Better head on over there.”

“Okay, Dmitri,” Geo-Whiz looked at Superkitten. “You heard him. Let’s go.”








Superkitten and Geo-Whiz arrived in Merrittstown and saw a robot tearing it apart—throwing cars into buildings and houses. He heard the two approaching and turned his head revealing a half-human face. The head startled Superkitten.

“He’s just a cyborg, SK,” Geo-Whiz said.

“I know, I just wasn’t expecting it,” she replied.

“You should’ve seen me before I had my face blown off, sweetie,” the cyborg said. “You would’ve been all over me.” The cyborg raised his arm, aimed an energy beam and began blasting away at Geo-Whiz and Superkitten.

They barely had enough time to get their force fields up before the beams hit them so they were knocked back a few feet. Geo-Whiz countered by lifting the ground under and around the cyborg, knocking him onto his back.

Superkitten leapt up and plowed her feet into his chest, cracking the breaking the metal. “You think that can stop me?” the cyborg said with a slight cackle. He flung his feet up and kicked Superkitten in the back, knocking her down.

Geo-Whiz angrily began using his power to throw huge boulders at the cyborg. A couple hit him, crushing his left arm and splintering his right calf.

“You’re good,” he said, slowly approaching Geo-Whiz. His arm and leg suddenly began repairing itself. “But I am better.”

Superkitten jumped up and kicked the cyborg’s head. With the help of her power, the head tore off of the cyborg’s body. The body went limp and fell to the ground. The head landed quietly on the street, dead.

“Grab the head, SK,” Geo-Whiz pointed as he lifted up the body. “Let’s get back to base.”

Four

Agent Spider and Geo-Whiz stood with Dmitri and the cyborg’s body and head. “This is amazing use of cybernetics but somehow this kind of technology seems beneath Taikon,” Dmitri said, holding the head in his hand and stroking his chin with a couple of fingers.

“He barely put up a fight. I expected more from something that was half-human and half-robot,” Geo-Whiz said.

“Considering you had the new girl with you, you should be glad,” Agent Spider said.

“Alix did just fine,” Geo-Whiz chuckled. “She did a lot of the work.”

Agent Spider was the only member of the team who covered most of his face. Geo-Whiz wore a mask but just over his eyes. Agent Spider had the ability to defy gravity and climb walls with ease. He was born Miguel Stoll in Miami. He learned he had the powers by accident and never used them. He had almost forgotten about them until his brother was killed in a drug raid and Dmitri confronted him. Now he was 23 and took his position as Agent Spider very seriously. Dmitri had created a special gauntlet for Miguel that shot small grappling hooks.

Elsewhere in the compound, Smoke was being entertained by magic from Abracadabra. Smoke was a young girl—younger than Alix—who could turn her body into smoke. She was the only member who had just one power but she was being trained in various types of fighting and martial arts just like the others. She was orphaned at age 9 and was placed in foster care. When her powers started manifesting themselves at 12, Dmitri adopted her.


Abracadabra, or Aber, was 23. Aber was an accomplished magician and sorcerer. Aber doesn’t know who he is or where he came from. He awoke, inexplicably, at the bottom of a pyramid in Egypt. No one knew who he was or how he got to Egypt but Dmitri took him in and now he was quite possibly the most powerful team member.

Red Fish was another member and he typically kept to himself. Red Fish, known to the world as insurance company magnate David Portnoy—the youngest CEO of an insurance company at 27. David could breathe underwater so Dmitri immediately sought him out. At first, David refused but soon gave in when Dmitri agreed to let David keep his day job.

Alix was in her room with America, or Matthew Coffin, who was the de facto leader of the team because he was the oldest at 32. America’s only power was flight but he was a skilled martial artist and a true believer in what the United States stood for.

Alix began panting faster and then smiled as she came. Matthew repositioned himself and he lowered his face to her and quickly finished up. She leaned up and kissed Matthew. “Thank you,” she smiled. “And I won’t tell anyone. I just…really needed it.”

“No problem,” Matthew smiled and began putting his clothes back on.

Dmitri’s voice came on over a speaker. “Alix? We need you to come to the second laboratory. We need you to listen to something.”

When Alix and Matthew got to the lab, everyone else had also joined. “What’s going on?” Alix asked.

“I want you to listen to this. We recorded a communication from a device in the cyborg’s head,” Dmitri said.

Agent Spider brought the audio on a screen. “…What? I don’t know. Alix! Help me!” a girl’s voice shrieked but the audio was garbled.


“We’re pretty sure she said ‘Alix’ so that’s why we brought you in,” said Geo-Whiz. “Do you know that voice?”

“Yeah. It’s my best friend, Traci.”

Five

Superkitten ran as fast as she could down the underground tunnel. She was hoping this would work because if not, she could really hurt herself. She hoped her power would be enough to break through the gigantic steel vault. She lowered her head, closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she plowed through the door. She stood, unhurt, in a huge room with walls covered with televisions. She pressed a button on her gauntlet. “Dmitri? There’s nothing in here but walls full of television,” she said. No one responded.

The TVs suddenly clicked on. Traci was laid out on a metal table, strapped down. She was crying and struggling at her bonds.

“Traci?” Superkitten looked at the picture on the screens.

“Alix? How’d you get here?” Traci shouted.

“I’ll tell you later. Now how do I get to you?” Superkitten wondered.

“You get to her through me!” Taikon said, suddenly appearing from the ceiling. Taikon was in a black skintight suit covered with bright yellow piping. The piping was elaborate and almost followed the exact location of his skeletal structure. Taikon also wore a yellow and black helmet that covered his whole head.

“Let her go. It’s not her you want!” Superkitten said.

“No, it’s not. Defeat me and she gets released. It’s that simple,” Taikon said.

Superkitten wasn’t sure what to do. She kept looking back and forth between Taikon and Traci. She hoped she was strong enough by herself and prepared herself to fight.

“Okay, Taikon. You want me? Come and get me,” she said. She did a complete flip backwards and Taikon slammed elbow first into her chest. “Ow!” she screamed as she punched Taikon in the head.

Taikon raised his arm and began blasting at Superkitten with solar blasts that scorched everything they touched. “I will fry you and every one of your teammates!” he shouted as blasted at Superkitten as she ran away.

The blasts destroyed the monitors on the walls sending shards of glass flying everywhere. The glass began cutting Superkitten’s skin and suit. Trickles of blood oozed from the wounds. She willed up her power again and turned on her force field. She surprised Taikon by punching him in the lower back as hard as she hit Paolo.

“Why do you hate the team so much? We’re protectors of the country!” Superkitten shouted and punched Taikon in the head again and then kicked him.

“They killed my brother!” Taikon screamed with a hint of crying in his voice although Superkitten couldn’t be sure. “My brother—we were twins—was selected for the team. We have…had the same power: the ability to transfer solar energy into concentrated blasts. While I was jealous, I was glad he was getting out of our dismal home life. They trained him, made him the leader. The first big mission they had, he gets killed! And they just treat him like another soldier—dead and forgotten. This team was his ticket out and they killed him,” Taikon explained.

Superkitten didn’t know what to say and tried to find the right words. “I haven’t been with the team very long but they train us really well. Six months ago, I could barely confront a boy in my school but now I feel confident enough to take on…well, you.” Superkitten knelt down by Taikon. “What happened to your brother is awful but instead of besmirching his name and honor as a bad guy, use those powers for good. Make your brother proud.”

Taikon was silent for a few seconds, then stood up. “Stupid bitch,” he said. He swatted Superkitten, who had lowered her force field, into the rubble where a wall and monitors used to be. “You fell for that? I don’t have a brother. I hate your team because they are the good guys!” Taikon began expanding his energy, growing larger with every second. “And when I get enough power I’m going to destroy this whole facility including you and your friend!”

He grew larger and larger, the solar energy crackling out of him. Superkitten backed away from Taikon into another room. Taikon stopped expanding and began imploding. His body shrank and collapsed in on itself. He fell backwards onto the floor, a charred, smoldering husk.

It took Superkitten a moment to realize what had happened then she shouted at the top of her lungs, “Traci!”

She heard a muffled cry and charged in its direction using her powers to bring down every wall that was in her way. Superkitten untied Traci from the table and pulled her off. The two hugged each other and cried.

“Oh, Alix. It was awful,” Traci sniffed. “He killed my family and kidnapped me and…!”

“He killed them? All of them?” Superkitten asked.

“All of them except Nick because he doesn’t live there. I don’t have a family anymore, Alix! I’m an orphan…”

Superkitten hugged Traci tight. “It’ll be all right, Traci. You still have me.”

The two girls continued hugging and crying.